Divergent Theories
by Aloria
Summary: At his death, Kopii's shoved into yet another identity that's not his, meanwhile Lina's investigating Sairaag for the source of strange disturbances. Can Lina & Co. forgive Sairaag's Destroyer to save both sides of the mirror? KS, LG, AZ
1. Death to Death in Life

AN: Okay, so I said I wasn't going to post anything new till I got my other stuff finished... but... o.o;;; I just wanted to know if anyone would be interested in reading this, so here's a teaser chapter!

* * *

...First. There was death. 

Pain sliced through his chest, ripping him apart inch by inch. Maybe he screamed, he didn't know, couldn't tell if he had or not. His whole body was burning- every nerve sending messages of searing pain to his mind and god he wished- begged for release!

But darkness wouldn't come. A redheaded girl crouched over him, mouth moving out of synch with the words she said "Hell- oh hell! Are you alright!"

"NO! I'm fucking dying!" maybe that's not what he said... he couldn't tell anymore. The world was fading around the edges and people were gathering, talking, staring in shock and murmuring. It was a sea of people, darkness washing around them. Didn't they see it?

Before him appeared what seemed an exact mirror of himself, floating in the waves of darkness that crashed around him. "Why- are you so sad?" he asked of the reflection that stared at the ground.

He was getting cold- the world starting to drift in and out of focus. "Someone! Call an ambulance!"

Lifting his eyes, his other self looked back, eyes widening slightly and began to withdraw... Reaching out, he caught his other self's hand, "Don't- please? Don't leave?"

"You... mean that?" his other self's eyes watered- how strange they were, one yellow, the other green. Their fingers curled tighter together, the look of total desperation in his other self's eyes was heart breaking. How could he ever be that hurt?

Desperately, he clutched at the ground, feeling as if his life were draining from him drop by drop- the girl- the redhead stared down at him. "Tell me- why I lost?" he asked her.

She stared at him in confusion. "Tell me what you see when... you look into the future?" he tried again, some ancient formulae to the words echoing out across time.

At last, she took his hand- wasn't he holding onto his mirror with that one? Yes and no... She looked at him with eyes unclouded by hatred. "I see... a great big beautiful flower," she told him. Her eyes were fearful, her fingers burning hot in his. "Please- hang on, the ambulance is coming. God- I'm so sorry- I didn't see you in time- I really-" her tears slid from her eyes, dripping from her cutely pointed chin- she hardly looked old enough to drive. "Please hold on, mister!"

For a second- the world changed- her words echoing in his ears- "great big beautiful flower!" She wasn't crying then.

Again, the skyscrapers reappeared, he desperately tried to pull in one breath after another, clinging to life- "I- didn't... didn't do it this time!" he begged some uncaring force that ran the universe. "Cephied! Don't take me again!" turning his eyes towards the girl who held his hand, he gripped her harder, "Lina!" he gasped, her eyes widened, "Lina- don't let me die- please! I learned! I did."

She was pulled away, people in white swarmed over him, carefully picking him up, strapping him to a board. He was lifted and carried- the world swam again, a blonde and a man with blue skin, roughly picking him up, hopping down into a ditch- no... grave...

"Don't put me in there!" he screamed, "I'm not dead yet-" he choked. Desperately, he gripped his other self's hand. Yes, the strange-eyed one was still there, looking on in confusion, fear evident in his posture. He moved his other hand to take hold of the one he'd gotten of his other self. "We have to- stay together- together we'll be alright!" he gasped at the hazy figure.

Yellow-Green Eyes stared at him. "Is that how she's so strong?" he asked softly, looking back towards the redhead who was left behind- then blocked off by the doors of the ambulance as they closed. Pain lanced through him and he screamed again, choking on blood that suddenly filled his lungs.

"Hurry- his lung's collapsed!"

A flash of light engulfed them both- out of fear, he gripped his other self's hand tightly, pulling him along as he was dragged under. "Don't leave me!" he begged.

His other self flashed a smile, "Do you really want me around...?"

"Yes."


	2. To Live After Death

_Dear Lina Inverse,_

_It's a pleasure to inform you that the Dragon Cuisine you ordered is now ready to eat. Please come to my restaurant, and bring your purse._

_Sincerely Ashford._

Lina squealed with joy and clutched the letter to her chest, bouncing up and down enthusiastically and drawing the attention the rest of tavern. Except Gourry, he was asleep, leaning back in his chair, drool dribbling down from the side of his mouth.

Balling her fist, Lina aimed for his head, and those who weren't looking in her direction already turned to see what the noise had been. Gourry slowly pulled himself up onto the edge of the table, rubbing his head, "Ouch, Lina! What was that for?" he eyed her.

Grinning, Lina read the letter aloud to him, then lowered the paper to see his reaction. "Dragon Cuisine? ... Oh YEAH! Now I remember." Leaping to his feet, he raised his fist, "Let's go!"

Gathering their gear together, the two sped through the front door of the tavern, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, and a confused mailman sitting on the floor, and unpaid, as was the tavern tab.

* * *

The day was bright and sunny as Zelgadis strolled beneath the trees, heading north once more. He'd actually had some luck outside the Mazoku barrier, something about an artifact that could drain the power from spells, almost like that stone in the Dragon Train that had tapped their magic to make the machine run. Or that's what he figured. Hopefully it wouldn't be something too dangerous to use on himself...

Softly, Amelia hummed as she walked beside him. She'd been out on a diplomatic mission, and he'd ended up in the same town as her, and well, since they were both there, he dropped by the inn she was staying at to say 'hi'. It was a coincidence that they'd met up, really. And if anyone asked him, that's what he'd tell them. Of course, he hadn't needed to stay till her mission was done before heading out again, but it was just more convenient to have someone help make camp and watch his back in a fight. Besides, she was getting tired of playing Pretty Princess and wanted a break. Or so she said.

Either way, they were walking casually along the road, heading to their destination, which was somewhere up near Sairaag as far as Zelgadis could determine from his source. It was just as well since Amelia had mentioned getting a letter from Sylphiel asking her for a visit, a little... memorial for the end of the Rezo incident. Sylphiel had said in her missive that she'd sent a similar invitation to Lina, but they hadn't written back or responded.

On that thought, Zelgadis looked ahead to see the end of the trees, and as the two topped the rise, what was left of Sairaag came into view. "It's really... rather sad," Amelia said, the first they'd had any sort of conversation in a while. Zelgadis liked that, it was an easy relationship where neither one of them expected to be entertained by the other every moment of the day. He looked towards her, waiting for her to complete her thought. "The way he died."

"Who? Rezo?" Zelgadis shook his head, then looked up at the sky, "I suppose, but he did bring it on himself."

Taking a breath, Amelia sighed deeply, "I've been thinking about it though. Was it really _all_ his fault? ...I...guess what I mean to say is that... well... It's hard to pretend to be what you're not. And if you're always told that no matter how hard you try, you'll never be perfect at it, but they expect you to be perfect anyway, how can you really help but hate that person?"

Zelgadis lowered his eyes, watching his feet crunch clods of dirt and crack a twig. He didn't think about it for half a minute, forcing himself to take her words seriously instead of just immediately reacting- as he was prone to when it came to the subject of Rezo- then took a breath and licked his lips, "I...guess you're right," he admitted at last. "But he didn't have to go so far as to Mega Brunt half of Sairaag. He didn't have to kill Eris or combine himself with Zanafaar either."

Tipping her chin up, Amelia looked towards him. She'd gotten taller lately, standing at just under his chin, "I agree," is all she said. Silence fell again, and Zelgadis fell into his thoughts, still contemplating her words. The more he thought about it, the more he tended to agree with her. Maybe Rezo didn't deserve the treatment he'd gotten from everyone, but that didn't change the fact that his behavior hadn't warranted his getting any sort of mercy from Lina. In any case, the point was rather moot, as both Rezo and his copy were dead and the world was safe from both of them, hopefully for good.

Ahead, a road crossed the one they were traveling, with a tall signpost informing travelers of the eventual destinations of these passages. And standing beneath that signpost was the familiar figure of a redhead- standing on top of a prone blonde man's head, pounding her foot into his skull. "Oh my. I guess they did get the message," Amelia remarked, speaking Zelgadis's very thought.

"Just like Lina not to write back. Then again, she'd probably get here faster than a note would," Zelgadis replied. Amelia calmly nodded.

Glancing aside, the princess added, "I almost wish they hadn't come," she admitted.

A surprising comment, and Zelgadis looked at her for it. "Yes," he agreed, "The quiet was nice. Things always seem to get stirred up when Lina's around."

Lifting her eyes, Amelia smiled towards him, obviously glad that he'd understood. "Not that we don't like her," she added.

"She's our friend," Zelgadis laughed softly, finishing the thought. Amelia's eyes sparkled in an adorable way, and her smile ignited that now rather familiar warmth in his heart.

"HEY! ZEL! AMELIA!"

Zelgadis heaved a sigh, "Here we go... Ready or not."

Looking down the road, Lina was still standing on Gourry's head, but now her apparent bad mood had flown and she was waving excitedly in their direction. Finally, she hopped off Gourry and waited for her two other friends to arrive. "Hey, great! Now I don't have to go find you guys. I got a letter from Ashford, he says our Dragon Cuisine is ready, and you guys helped catch that thing, so I'm inviting you to come have some too!"

Amelia sighed, putting a hand to her face, "Ms. Lina... you didn't get Sylphiel's letter, did you?"

Blinking, Lina shook her head, "No... why? Is there a problem?"

Zelgadis shook his head, "No, she just wanted us to attend a memorial to Sairaag with her."

Silence fell a moment as Lina folded her arms and tapped her foot in thought. Slowly, Gourry dug his head out of the dirt and shook the dust out of his hair. "Oh! Hi Zel! Hi Amelia!" he waved cheerfully, as if he hadn't had an irate sorceress tap dancing on his skull a moment ago. "Did you say Sylphiel?" he pulled his knees under him and sat on the ground where he was to look up at Lina.

"Well, a memorial won't take _that_ long, and we're nearly to Sairaag as it is..." Lina pondered out loud.

"And Sylphiel's a great cook," Gourry added, and that decided Lina.

Slapping her fist into her palm, she turned an about face and started off towards Sairaag without another word. Getting to his feet, Gourry dashed after her, "Hey! Wait up, Lina!" Looking towards Amelia, Zelgadis met her eyes and they both shrugged and started after the pair.

* * *

Sunset painted the sky a brilliant orange, the bottoms of the clouds of a departing storm pink, and Amelia and Sylphiel sat in the shrine maiden's backyard. Sylphiel sighed softly, and blew across the surface of her tea, then sipped. The silence they had shared their tea in was companionable, one Sylphiel liked, and...somewhat missed these days. Amelia had certainly settled down over the last few years, perhaps it was her involvement with Zelgadis? Or maybe the extra duties she'd taken on as a princess? Or, perhaps it was both.

Amelia's eyes turned from the sunset towards Sylphiel, her hands lowering her teacup down to the saucer she held in her lap. "You seem troubled," she observed, the first thing either of them had said in the last half hour. "Is something wrong, or is it just the time of year?"

Lowering her eyes, the light briefly catching in them and setting a fire within the emerald that died as her lashes shaded them from the light. "A little of both," Sylphiel admitted, "As I said earlier, I've been teaching over at the university. It's harder than I thought it would be... I don't know. I just don't think I'm suited to teaching, Miss Amelia, if they didn't want to be there, I would never have my students' attention."

"They're young, Sylphiel. Kids are always like that," Amelia assured. "Politicians are worse," she smiled deviously, "Their fights are more childish than a pair of toddlers sometimes, and these are supposed to be the people advising the king of Seyruun."

Softly the shrine maiden laughed, lifting her eyes, "It's a good thing they aren't actually in charge," she agreed. "The king has sent assistance to Sairaag, but it was mostly older, retiring soldiers looking to settle down to jobs and wives. Sure, it's a help to our economy here, but there just aren't enough women to go around. Miss Amelia, I've been proposed to six times in the last month by men I don't even know who're my father's age!"

The princess twitched, "And you don't even have the excuse of already having someone... You know, you're welcome to come visit Seyruun, whenever you want a break."

Breathing a sigh, Sylphiel nodded, "I might have to take you up on that. Between the children, my own classes, and those men, I feel I'm going to lose my mind." Amelia nodded in agreement and as one, they lifted their cups to sip their tea.

A slightly built but heavy figure settled to the edge of the bench beside Amelia, legs crossing and arms folding on his chest. Zelgadis peered back over his shoulder at the two women. "Lina and Gourry are looking for seconds," he stated, "I hope she pays you back for the groceries."

Lifting her head, a smile crossed Sylphiel's lips, "She already paid me," she replied, touched by Zelgadis's concern anyway. "How has your search been going, Mr. Zelgadis?"

Zel shook his head minutely. "Oddly enough, it's led me back here. I found a mention of some gem called the Mirror Breaker outside the confines of the barrier, it's location led me to Zelfia, but when I got there, locals of the town nearby said Rezo had already been there and taken the stone with him. It figures, really."

"So you'll probably be here a while?" Sylphiel asked.

Heaving a long-suffering sigh, Zelgadis nodded, "Probably. I have to sort through that mess Kopii Rezo left. I don't know if there's much, though." Amelia shifted, sliding slightly closer to the Chimera, close enough for him to feel her shoulder against his. A faint blush crept up his cheeks, but he remained composed otherwise. Amelia smiled slightly to herself and sipped her tea.

Softly, Sylphiel hmmed, "I've taken a look around the area a few times," she admitted, "It's a lot safer now that Zanafaar's miasma is completely gone, it's not drawing monsters to the area. I'll show you the things I've found, if you want."

In return, Zelgadis smiled, but only briefly, "I'd appreciate that. Though, in truth, I don't know what this Mirror Breaker gem is supposed to look like."

"I'm sure you'll find it, Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia replied, speaking up finally, once she'd finished her tea and set the cup down on the saucer with a soft click of porcelain.

Sylphiel nodded her agreement, "If it's here, you'll find it. No one ever goes up into the ruined sections, except me. They... think it's haunted by something. Admittedly, I... have seen strange lights at night, but others say they've seen mirages of buildings- incredibly tall buildings, perhaps as tall as Flagoon was. I've heard some say they could hear people and strange noises too. I've done some research on it, compiled what people have said, but there's not much I can say except that there is something strange going on there."

"Is that so? Then we'll just have to investigate it!" Lina stated boldly as she marched across the grass, apparently triumphant in the battle against Gourry for dinner, as the swordsman was seriously lagging behind and holding a hand to his head. Folding her arms, Lina leaned against Zelgadis's other shoulder, as if he were some boulder put there just for her to use. He sighed. "I was wondering where you all ran off to."

Zelgadis shifted slightly, unbalancing Lina enough to make her stand up straight, "We were just escaping the War."

Growling, Lina clenched a fist and shook it at him, "What's that supposed to mean!"

"You're violent and loud, and I doubt even my skin could survive an impact from any fork you might throw at me," Zelgadis replied, blunt as a brick in a sock. Lina scowled at him, but lowered her fist, knowing better than to sock him, it would hurt her more than it did him. "I suppose, since Rezo is ...quite... dead, as well as Eris, anything in the ruins you might find is rightfully mine," he added stoically, "However. If you ask politely, I might let you keep what you find, Lina."

Smiling, Lina leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "Oh, Zelly-poo," she teased, "May I PLEEEASE have some of your magical artifacts?"

Zelgadis pulled a face and got to his feet, dumping Lina across the bench and partially on Amelia, "Call me 'Zelly-poo' again, and the answer's no," he scowled at Lina.

"Okay, Zelga-bunny," the sorceress oozed from Amelia's lap.

Amelia sighed, pushing Lina off as well, "I think you've gotten him back, Lina, you can stop now."

Gustily, Lina sighed and draped over the bench, Gourry finally staggering his way over and looking around in dazed confusion, as if he had a concussion, which he likely did. Lina flipped a hand lightly, "You're too serious, Zel, really, lighten up!" Reaching over, Lina thwapped Amelia's shin, "I thought you were working on him about that. You're slacking!"

Identical blushes suffused both Zelgadis and Amelia's faces. "I don't know what you're talking about, Miss. Lina."

Zelgadis didn't even bother making a comment, he just turned and headed back towards the backdoor of Sylphiel's home, which had been her family's summer home, but was now her primary residence. It was only a few hours walk from the reviving Sairaag, but it was far enough away to give her peace. Sylphiel shook her head slightly and balanced her teacup on its saucer as she brushed her hair back over her shoulders. Though she was glad to see her friends, she felt overwhelmed, and stifled by Lina...and outright uncomfortable with Gourry. He still didn't realize her crush on him, but it hardly mattered, he loved Lina and that was the bottom line.

"I'd better go do the dishes," Sylphiel said as the last of the sun's rays lit the sky, clinging to the bottoms of the clouds for dear life. Reaching over, she took Amelia's teacup, setting both on the tray she'd had set on the bench beside her with the empty teapot, and stood. Turning, she headed towards the door and balanced the tray on her hip as she turned the knob on the back door and stepped into her kitchen.

Lina frowned and got up, "She's avoiding me, isn't she?"

Amelia shook her head, "No, she's just tired. She was telling me about how stressed she is over teaching at the university, and all the grimy old soldiers in town trying to marry her." The princess stood and dusted her rear off, "I think she's really lonely, living out here by herself, though, that's probably the bottom of it all."

Turning her eyes towards the sunset, which had cast the small forest that abutted Sylphiel's backyard into pitch-dark shadow, Lina folded her arms beneath her breasts, "Yeah. It's not good for a woman her age to live alone like this." Peering towards Amelia, Lina gave a catty smile, "What do you say we play matchmaker?"

Frowning, but with a hint of uncertainty, Amelia looked away, "I'm not sure she'd appreciate it..."

"Oh, come on! We'll pick someone really good for her! Someone who'll meet OUR standards first."

Softly, the princess had to laugh at that, "Oh, Miss. Lina, I don't think such a man exists that could pass our test."

Grinning, Lina patted Amelia's shoulder, "There might be! Where's your spunky optimism? Or has Zelgadis sucked it all out of you?"

Sticking her tongue out at Lina, Amelia pumped a Fist of Justice into the air, "No One could kill my belief that 'Where there's a Will there's a Way!'"

"That's the spirit," Lina agreed. "We'll have to do it without Sylphiel knowing."

"Without Sylphiel knowing what?"

The two females spun around to look at Gourry, guilty shock on their faces. "Uh, nothing at all, Gourry!" Lina replied.

Amelia nodded, "Yep, nothing at all!"

Nodding, Gourry mumbled, "Oh, alright. If you say so."

Sighing in unison, Amelia and Lina exchanged glances, the princess giving a shrug and Lina a faint smile. "Lets get back inside. It's starting to get cold out here," Lina volunteered. Nodding, her two companions agreed, and together, they returned to the kitchen.

Sylphiel's house was fairly large- far too large for one person, and Lina suspected that someone as tidy and tiny as Sylphiel rattled around in the place like a single seed in a large jar. The kitchen was roughly square-shaped, and large enough to fit a good sized table with four chairs in it, as well as have plenty of space for her cooking, a door on the south wall led into her backyard, the door on the north led into the front room, which spanned the entire length of the building, and the door on the east wall led into the bathroom. The front room had a set of stairs that lead up to the second story, as well as the front door on the north wall, on the east wall was a large fireplace, with a seating arrangement in front of it and a large fur throw rug on the cherry wood floor- which had been used throughout the house, a bookshelf was on the wall beneath the stairs. The other side of the room had a larger, more formal dining table with seating for eight, which was hardly ever used anymore, but Lina could hardly tell. There wasn't a speck of dust to be seen in the house, and even Lina's white gloves came clean when she'd stuck a finger in the corner earlier while Sylphiel was outside- just to see if it would. She bet the floors were as clean as the plates they'd eaten off of.

Once again, Sylphiel was at the sink, up to her elbows in hot water and suds. Zelgadis was nowhere in sight, but Lina could hear the sound of his heavy footfalls in the bedroom directly over the kitchen, which he was sharing with Gourry. The girls had all gotten separate rooms since Sylphiel lived there and had her own room, and Lina had wanted a room to herself, and Amelia hadn't wanted to sleep with her. Gourry and Zel didn't mind sharing. Amelia yawned, "I think I'm going to go to bed," she said, stretching, "See you in the morning!" Turning, the princess headed out into the front room and up the stairs.

Cursing mentally, Lina yawned as well, having been triggered by Amelia's. However, the sorceress took a seat at the table, which was now cleared of dishes. Gourry meandered past without a word and zombied up the stairs after Amelia, probably feeling dizzy from the clonk to the head Lina had given him.

"Hey, Sylphiel," Lina thumped her elbows on the table and propped her chin in her hands. She'd removed her gloves earlier, along with her shoulder guards and cloak. They were in her room currently, as she had no reason to be wearing them right now. Sylphiel hmmed softly and glanced back over her shoulder. The shrine maiden was wearing a dark blue sweater with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of black leggings beneath, tucked into a pair of gray house shoes that were nothing special at all. "What do you really like in a man?"

Blushing brightly, Sylphiel looked away, "I..." she looked down at her soapy water and shifted, scratching the side of her shin with one foot. "Charm," she answered finally. "And a bit of selflessness." Bowing her head slightly over her work, Sylphiel fell silent for a long time, then added one more qualification before Lina could say anything, "And ...intelligence," she sighed. "Someone capable of holding a conversation."

Lina smiled slightly, "And good looks," she added, "He's got to have a nice smile, too, right?"

An even deeper blush turned Sylphiel's ears red. "...yeah," she admitted. "Miss. Lina... you know I... ...I don't mind so much anymore... about Gourry. He's sweet, but I really think he's better off with you. I'd just..." she looked back over her shoulder and smiled slightly, "I'd just make him fat and lazy," she admitted, a glint of humor in her eyes.

Sitting up, Lina laughed, "Nah, you wouldn't."

The shrine maiden shook her head and straightened, staring out the window in front of her. "If he wanted me, he would have stayed in Sairaag. But he left as quickly as he came, and I'm getting over it. Okay, Lina?" she looked back at the redhead to give another short-lived smile.

"That doesn't make you any less lonely," Lina observed, folding her arms on the table and sitting up slightly. "But I'm glad you're alright with it. I ...wouldn't want our friendship to be broken by something so ... small."

Sylphiel flushed, but nodded, "I agree," she stated, not touching the subject of Lina's first comment. "You don't have to keep me company, Miss. Lina. I'll be done with this soon."

Shaking her head, though the shrine maiden didn't see it, Lina answered, "Not tired, really. Besides, you need someone to talk to. So talk, I'm listening."

Giving a sigh that made her shoulders sink, Sylphiel replied, "I... guess I'm just frustrated. This wasn't how I envisioned I'd be at twenty. I thought... I thought I'd be happily in love and engaged and performing my duties as a shrine maiden to Flagoon, and ...none of that is happening. Nor will it happen. I'm not a good teacher, even if having to explain how something works is helping me perfect my abilities as a white mage, and the classes I'm taking in shamanism are going well... Its just not what I feel my real purpose in life is." She rinsed a cup and set it on the rack nearby to dry.

Tracing her finger on the table, Lina listened silently, eyes on her hand, but she glanced up at Sylphiel's last statement, "Maybe it's a fear of change?" the sorceress suggested.

Sylphiel shook her head, hands scrubbing at a dish as she spoke, "No... it... feels sort of like half of me is missing. I feel like I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and it upsets me, because ... because I know what it is, but I just –can't- do it."

"And what is it?" Lina prompted when Sylphiel said nothing else.

Setting the dish aside, Sylphiel reached into the sink and pulled the plug, then rinsed her hands as the sudsy water drained. "Taking care of Flagoon. I feel like it's still alive, but gone. I go to the lake where it grew, and... Lina, I keep seeing it reflected there, as if Flagoon were above me, and the strange thing is, I don't see MY reflection in the water when I see Flagoon!" Drying her hands on a towel, Sylphiel turned to face Lina, "Please believe me..." she said softly, "It's not just nostalgia, or me trying to delude myself. I've seen it too many times for it to be a lie. There's just, something strange in that area, and I can't figure out what."

Getting to her feet, Lina tossed her hair back over her shoulder, "Don't worry, Syl, we'll go check it out tomorrow." Coming around the table, the shorter sorceress placed her hands on Sylphiel's shoulders, looking up into her dark-haired friend's face and smiled, "If there's anything there, we'll find it. It might be all that magical stuff Rezo collected scattered around the place unshielded. Sometimes things like that have auras that clash, and are better kept separate."

Reluctantly, Sylphiel nodded, and stepped forward, hugging Lina. "Thank you for coming... that was- that was the real reason why I sent those letters. I just can't find anything on my own, and I knew you would help me."

Lina returned the hug, tightly, then stepped back. "Of course!" she agreed. "Lets get to bed, though. It'll be an early start tomorrow."

This time, Sylphiel's smile was a bit stronger and she gave a nod. Stepping over to the lamp hung above the table, she turned it down to a dull glow and followed Lina out to the front room and up the stairs.


	3. Life After Death

The ceiling was white acoustic tile, with hard white florescent light panels.

It was an unfamiliar ceiling.

Well, so was the rest of the room. A soft beeping- rhythmic and high pitched; sounding shrill in the small room was the only noise. Only the faint scent of disinfectant, and the sound of dust dancing in the breeze of the air conditioner in a shaft of sunlight that shot into his room, reflecting off the white tile floor and casting a haze up the walls. The light didn't quite reach him- his bed was in the center of the room. There was a soft beeping noise, a steady rhythm.

Probably... it was one-o'clock in the after noon. He blinked.

He'd forgotten about the rest of his body, it was numb, thankfully. He probably didn't want to know what it felt like. What had happened?

A motorcycle- girl with red hair flying down the street, just as he stepped onto the crosswalk- right turn on red. Dodge- light green- car...

He forced his eyes open again in a desperate measure to blank out the images. That wasn't what happened at all! What had happened?

Redhead- sword, flying towards him- No time to move- pain! Right in the heart- her friends watching...

A click- the door opened with a soft swish. That girl... His eyes shifted towards her as the redhead paused. She was... very short. Her cheek had a bruise, deep purple covering the side of her face and threatening to give her a black eye, her hand was bandaged. Was that all? In her arms she held a large vase of flowers, barely able to see over them. After a moment of hesitation, she stepped forward, setting the vase on a table beside his bed. His eyes followed her.

Swallowing, she looked down at her hands, and then scratched the side of her nose. "I... wanted to apologize again," she said softly. "It was my fault..."

He stared at her, listening to the dust motes as silence fell.

Finally, she lifted her eyes- then frowned, leaning forward a bit, "I thought... your eyes were blue," she murmured, then moved back again, "sorry, I just... I don't think I'll ever forget what happened." Her red-brown eyes watered. She had very large eyes, a pixie like face, very tiny body. His eyes settled upon her A-32's... Remembering himself, he flicked his eyes back up towards her face- finding her glaring at him. "I wanted to ask something too. How did you know my name?"

For a long moment, silence fell again. Stupid beeping noise, it was really starting to get on his nerves- and the rhythm had picked up. "Well?" she asked.

Once more, he closed his eyes, feeling as if he knew this girl- but didn't. Forcing a swallow with his dry mouth, he licked his lips, prying them apart with a sticky tongue. Ugh, he wanted to brush his teeth. "I don't know," he forced out, voice cracking.

"What do you mean you don't know!" she raised her voice, shouting at him, then clamped her lips shut, looking back towards the still open door. "You asked me about the future," she gestured vaguely towards the flowers.

He looked towards them. "...Great big beautiful flower," he murmured.

She nodded, "So how did you know my name?"

Admittedly, he did feel as if he knew her, but darkness was creeping in at the edges of his vision again. He opened his mouth to tell her something, but the thought slipped away before he could get a better hold on it. The world faded.

An echo of a voice, "Ma'am! You're not supposed to be here..."

* * *

There was a young woman with dark hair standing next to his bed, fingers lightly pinching his wrist, her eyes intent on her watch as she silently counted. He stared up at her quietly for a second. "Sylphiel?" he asked her.

Her head lifted and she looked towards him, her nametag said 'S. Raada'. Softly, her lips moved into a smile that warmed his heart, her hand moving to his forehead, brushing his maroon bangs back from his eyes. "You're doing very well, better than we hoped," she told him, her green eyes sparkling. "Better than we expected actually."

His eyes moved towards the vase on the table beside him- the one the redhead had left. The flowers were wilting. Outside it was still day, but earlier, barely past dawn. "Where am I?"

She straightened, picking up her clipboard, writing down something before she answered him. "You're in Holy Flagoon Hospital, the critical care ward," she smiled once more, clasping her clipboard against her thighs with both hands, tipping her head to the side- hair falling across her shoulder in a soft ripple. Her clothes were all white, a short shirt and skirt outfit and a little white hat, a little red circle emblem on her right breast, her nametag on the left.

"May I have some water?"

Once more, her lips smiled, sending a flicker of amazement through his heart. She set the clipboard down on his shins, moving off briefly and returning with the requested water. Hitting a button, he was raised the upper end of his bed slightly and she held the paper cup to his lips. His upper body felt strange, his left arm held out at a weird angle, something was wrapped around his chest, constricting his breathing, and further down, his left leg was wrapped in something hard and gritty feeling. He sipped the offered water, nearly choked, but drank as much as he could, emptying the cup. "It's good that you're thirsty," she told him, "Means your body is starting to work right again." Gentle fingers touched his hair again, caressing it lightly, her eyes soft and encouraging. "Can you remember anything about what happened?"

A wave of pain spiked through him as he coughed, the edges of the room turning black- those waves of chaos lapping at his world. He focused his eyes on hers, forcing those waves back. No- he didn't want to go there again. "I destroyed Sairaag," he told her, "You killed me- you and... that redhead."

Her eyes went wide, then sad, "No sir, that didn't happen."

"Didn't... happen? No wonder you can smile at me." His eyes turned towards the flowers again, they were old, not dried out, as if someone had watered them, "You took care of them?" he asked softly, "You talked to me..."

Again, she smiled, "Yes, I did. You haven't had any visitors and I always found that people seem to heal faster when they're getting a little bit of attention every day." Once more, her hand was running through his hair- a very soothing gesture and his eyes fell half lidded. Her thumb gently caressed across his eyebrow, smoothing the short hairs there.

"Would you forgive me... if I did destroy Sairaag?"

She looked a bit worried, "It would depend, I suppose... on why."

He wanted to shake his head, but couldn't find the strength to do so. "Because- I couldn't stop her... I was weak and couldn't stop her from making me." He closed his eyes- seeing the woman with black hair and hard hazel eyes- standing over him, "Am I nothing but a copy?"

The air shifted and he opened his eyes, looking up at Ms. S. Raada, "I don't think that happened, sir," she repeated softly. Her hair fell forward over her shoulder as she bent over him, piling on his chest; she smelled like flowers and somehow he found the strength to move his right hand a fraction of an inch from where it rested on his chest, touching those silken dark strands. The beeping picked up in time with his heart.

Blushing, she straightened, hands pulling her short jacket down and brushing wrinkles from her skirt. Lifting her eyes to meet his again, she smiled. "You don't have any twins," she told him reassuringly, "so you couldn't possibly be a copy." She laughed softly, "Otherwise, what would they be using to make you? A Xerox machine? Besides, even twins are different from each other, they may be similar, but they'll always be different in some ways."

For a moment, he was shocked, then laughed, though he didn't have the strength to give more than a few breathy cough-like sounds, though his smile stayed in place. "Thank you... Sylphiel."

"You're welcome," she replied, genuinely pleased to see him smiling. Reaching out, she took her clipboard and moved to the end of the bed, hooking it there. Lifting her eyes back towards his, she smiled once more. "Try and rest, get better- get stronger so you can live your new life."

His fingers curled on the bed sheet. "Sylphiel... to you... who am I?"

Slender fingers lifted a lock of her hair, playing idly with the ends. "I don't know yet," she replied, looking down shyly, "I'm not supposed to get too involved with patients." Her eyes flicked upwards again, a hint of a smile touching her lips. "But I'll tell you what I see; I see a young man with a very bright future ahead of him." Dropping her hair, she patted his ankle gently. "So get better so you can get out there and find out what it is."

He watched as she left, feeling the shadow of her touch on his face still, heart still beating somewhat fast. Settling back in his bed, he stared forward; glad that she'd left him sitting up- now he could see more of the room. Though there wasn't much to see, just gray walls, white tile floor, a white ceiling, and a metal pole with a bag hanging from it- a plastic tube running between it and a needle in the back of his right hand.

At least now, he could take better inventory of his body, the befuddlement of sleep slipping away and leaving only his confused memories. His left arm was covered from wrist to shoulder in hard plaster. He tried to move his fingers and a stab of pain made him stop quickly. Two small patches were stuck on his chest beneath a light wrap of bandaging; they pulled a little as he breathed. Breathing hurt, as if his chest had been split in two and was barely held together. His left leg was in a cast as well, from knee down to his toes.

A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered something that... didn't happen? It involved the woman in black and some machine that fed him and regenerated his power when he used too much...

Didn't happen? How was she so sure of that? He definitely remembered it. Sylphiel had been so upset about him destroying Flagoon too.

Managing to turn his head, he looked out the window at the giant tree he could see in the distance. "Flagoon..." he whispered. It still stood, and he was obviously not buried under it. If he didn't destroy Sairaag, then what really happened?

Closing his eyes and forcing himself to think back to those moments of sheer panic, he desperately tried to sort though everything that had happened. At last, he came up with two scenarios- one where a redhead ran him through with a sword, the second where she came tearing around a corner doing a right on red with a motorcycle and he'd leaped back, then barely dodged an oncoming car only to be hit with the motorcycle. If... the one with the sword didn't happen- hypothetical question, as he knew in his heart that it did- then the other version must be true.

That begged the question...

"Who am I?"

Fatigue caught up with him at last and he allowed the darkness to claim him once more. He could figure out the rest later. Sylphiel seemed to believe he had plenty of time.


	4. The One In The Mirror

AN: guess what, kiddos! You get a treat with this fic! NO YEAR-LONG WAITS BETWEEN CHAPTERS! Why? Cause I finished it before posting much of it! YES! It's Finished before posting! Now, that doesn't mean you get it all at once. I'm gonna take my sweet time posting chapters, just to tease you, because I'm cruel (and unusual; I inherited that from my father). MWAHAHAHHAA!

I'd like to thank my mom for editing this for me. Yes, she does read my fanfiction, and plays video games with me. She's so awesome!

Also, if anyone can tell me why I do my best writing when I'm wonked out on cough syrup at midnight, that'd be appreciated.

On another note, anyone who's a really big fan of the Rezo's and Zelgadis can join my yahoo group: SlayersGraywords.

I'd post the link, but ff.n is having _issues_ with it. Thanks for reading!

* * *

Afternoon was hot. 

Very hot.

Sylphiel wiped her forehead once again with the back of her arm and panted. She'd already removed her cloak and gloves, she didn't have sleeves, and certainly couldn't remove her leggings, even though her current shirt turned into shorts that she could have taken her pants off and been decent in. Gourry had removed his shirt and armor, Amelia her cloak and armbands – which were a new matching set of pink gems on yellow bands, Lina had divested herself of cloak and gloves too.

Zelgadis was the only one who seemed completely unaffected by the heat, wielding his shovel like a pro as he and Gourry dug to find stuff that Lina could sense and Amelia and Sylphiel combed the dirt for anything and everything. Sylphiel had actually found that teddy bear that had been in Rezo's lab, and it was piled with the other things they'd found- she might ask Zelgadis if she could keep that one though... Books, scrolls, rocks, jewelry, and various odd implements that had no identifiable function were piled next to the clothes they'd all removed. In that regard, the search had been successful, however, this Mirror Breaker Zelgadis was looking for had not turned up.

"Lina," Amelia called, too sunburned and sweaty to deal with polite titles anymore, "I found something over here. It's big, and half buried."

Gourry shoved his hair back from his face once more, his bangs slicked back with sweat, and heaved his shovel to his shoulder, having been taking a moment of break after he'd finished digging up one item. "I got it," he called to Lina who looked over. She was with Zelgadis as they tried to figure out how deep a particular item was and whether they could use spells to get closer to it. Striding across the rubble, Gourry headed towards Amelia and set his shovel to where she pointed. It was a heavy oak chest, a little damaged, and buried enough that Amelia couldn't pull it out. Satisfied that her find was being taken care of, the princess moved off further into her quadrant of the area they'd picked to search in today.

Breathing heavily, Sylphiel swayed and landed on her rear in the dirt, "I ...can't..." she wheezed, "Go on! I need ...water..." Somehow, she found the strength to stumble to her feet again, "I'm taking a break," she announced, and didn't bother waiting for the answer, just turned and started off into the ruins, heading towards the lake that had once surrounded Flagoon's main trunk. Though she didn't remember the journey there, Sylphiel collapsed to her knees at the edge of the water and leaned down... and opened her eyes. Once again, Flagoon reflected back at her, but this time... This time, the strange image was made even stranger. This time, Sylphiel had a reflection. She was crouched on the other side of the pool with Flagoon above her, her body clad in a sleeveless white shirt of light material and a pair of dark purple shorts, her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and though they were seated across from each other, Sylphiel watched as her mirrored self sat back and covered her mouth with her hands, then slowly leaned forward, reaching out a hand to touch the water.

After a moment, Sylphiel shook herself and reached down too, placing her hand over the palm her other self held up. ...Their hands touched. "You're real!" the shrine maiden gasped. "Then- your Flagoon is still there! Your Sairaag is still there!" her eyes watered and overflowed, tears dropping down into the water. The Other Sylphiel looked concerned, her mouth moved, but no voice came back, her image rippling with every tear that hit the surface of the lake.

"Sylphiel! There you are!"

Looking back, Sylphiel blinked her eyes clear, "Miss Lina! Come here!" The sorceress, concerned, jogged closer and frowned, looking down into the water.

"Cephied..." she whispered, staring at the Other Sylphiel who still had her palm to the water. "And that must be Flagoon. You were right, Syl. There's something weird going on here." Just as she said that, the water flashed, the image was gone. "But what was that?" Slowly, the redhead crouched, arms resting on her knees as she gazed at the now perfectly normal lake. "You think it's safe to drink?"

Looking down at the water, Sylphiel lifted her hand, water dripping from her palm. "I touched, her," she said softly, "Our hands touched... It was like... I wish I could have seen what she was saying." In annoyance, Sylphiel wiped her face with the edge of her sleeve, then leaned down to take a drink from the water.

Taking the shrine maiden's cue, Lina got herself a drink as well, slurping up liquid greedily, as she did many things, then sat back and wiped her mouth. "Ah, that was good! We'll have to tell Zel about this." Sylphiel nodded her agreement, and after splashing her face to wash away the rest of the tears, Sylphiel got to her feet and moved to catch up with Lina.

Drawing a breath, the sorceress shouted, "Oi! Zel! We saw something weird!" Zelgadis looked over from where he was helping Gourry haul the trunk out of the hole the blonde had dug.

"What is it?" the Chimera asked irritably and the two men dropped the heavy trunk on the ground. It thumped with a bit of clinks and jingles.

Dusting his hands, Gourry took a seat on the ground for a well-deserved break and Zelgadis finally admitted to fatigue and settled on the edge of a nearby stone. Amelia wandered closer to listen as well. Lina flopped to the ground and gestured at Sylphiel. "Start from the beginning?" Lina prompted.

"Well I," Sylphiel blushed faintly as she knelt on the ground, "I went to get some water and leaned down to drink when I opened my eyes and saw Flagoon reflected in the water again. Usually... when I see this, I don't have a reflection, but this time... I did. My other self wasn't wearing the same clothes, though, nor was she moving in sync with me. It was as if I had a twin and we were looking at each other through a window. She saw me too, and reached out. I put my hand over hers and our palms actually touched. Then Miss. Lina came and saw it as well, but then the lake flashed and the image was gone."

Gourry was the first to speak, "Wow, that's a really cool dream."

Reaching over, Lina gave a token slap to his arm, "That wasn't a dream, I saw it too, at least the last part. They were sitting there with their hands touching, and then the lake flashed and she and the tree were gone."

Zelgadis rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand scrubbing his hair away from his face briefly, "There's definitely something strange going on here," he admitted, "though I'm not sure whether it's all these magical artifacts laying around or something else entirely."

Looking around, Gourry added, once more, since he hadn't learned the first time. "I dunno. It just seems like this place is out of balance."

"Actually, I've felt that way too," Amelia added tiredly.

Lina shrugged, "I feel fine," she admitted. "But then, I've been using my magic all day long to sense stuff, so maybe that's why?"

The Chimera shook his head, "I don't feel it either, and I haven't been using magic."

Amelia delicately pointed out, "You're inherently magical, though." Zelgadis decided to not take offence and nodded slightly in agreement to the statement. "But what about Sylphiel?"

Closing her eyes, Sylphiel simply sat there for a long moment, feeling... "Yes," she answered finally, "And...it seems connected with my feeling of not doing my job."

Lina nodded, as if she knew anything about the reason behind the situation. "Well, not much we can do about it at this point in time. Lets call it a day, haul what we've got back to Syl's place and get some lunch. I'm STARVING!"

The vote was unanimous (since Zelgadis's silence didn't count), and Amelia managed to call first dibs on the bath since Lina wanted food and Sylphiel had to make it, and Gourry wanted food, and Zel seemed disinclined to admit that he was hot and sweaty and terribly thirsty. Gathering everything together was a rather daunting task, but once they'd put most of the stuff into someone's subspace pocket or other, they trudged back down the road to Sylphiel's house where the stuff was dumped out in Sylphiel's back yard, as well as a few other items Lina graciously revealed her ownership of and told Zelgadis he could take a look at in exchange for letting her study some of his stuff. It was a regular Rare Items tradeoff, and Sylphiel sighed, mourning her poor grass.


	5. The Pieces That Fit

He opened his eyes again, and finding the room empty, his gaze traveled to the vase beside his bed- different flowers, and they were reaching the end of their bloom, dropping petals on the small metal table. Frowning faintly, he turned his eyes towards the other side of the room and realized that his bed had been moved and the shades were pulled down on one side of the window. He stared out the remaining side of the window at the sky, that being all he could see from this angle. It was early evening, the light golden-orange as it hit the opposite wall. He felt as if he'd missed someone coming in. It had probably been Sylphiel, and he wished she'd come back. He wanted to ask her... what had he wanted to ask her?

Oh yes, his name.

Flexing the fingers of his left hand and taking a slow breath, he realized the heavy cast was gone. No pain lanced through his body this time as he flexed his arm carefully. He tried wiggling his toes, finding that cast gone as well. Yes, his toes worked rather well, so he tried flexing his legs a bit. A smile flicked across his lips as he shifted his legs, finally pulling his knees up. Though he felt out of breath, he wasn't ready to give up and forced himself to sit up.

He got partway there, propping himself up with his right elbow, but anything further was bordering on painful and he relaxed back into bed. The activity raising his heart rate, as was evident by the beeping of the machine above his bed- yes. He'd finally located the source of that irritating noise. He wished he could turn it off.

Heaving a sigh, he stared up at the ceiling for a while, feeling a little hungry- no, more than a little hungry. His stomach growled-

A soft laugh brought his eyes towards the door. Sylphiel stood with a tray in her hands. Her hair was braided today. "I thought you were awake," she said, coming forward and setting the tray up over his legs as he straightened them once again- attaching it to the bars on either side of his bed. Hitting that button, she sat him up once more. "Sorry but it's still mostly liquids for you," she told him as he gazed down in confusion at the pouches of mush that sat on the tray.

She broke open the packets, mixed them together in a glass and stuck a straw into the goop, lifting it up to his mouth with the straw near his lips. Heaving a sigh, he took a suck and pulled a face, managing to swallow by sheer will, "Ugh- what is that?"

Biting her lower lip, Sylphiel shook her head, "It's pure vitamins and minerals. Not very tasty, I know, but you need to eat it." She smiled, "I brought something a bit naughtier for after. I hope you like cherries?" She pulled a chair over and perched on the edge of it, still holding the glass up for him to suck from.

Flashing a grin at her, he obediently sucked down the most horrible thing he'd ever tasted. Even Eris's rice pudding wasn't this bad! "I- figured out some things..." he said absently after he recovered from his speed-swallowing- an effort to taste the mush as little as possible. She looked interested. "I was in an accident... with a redhead on a motorbike. Out on Forth Street and Noonsa Ave."

Sylphiel nodded, rewarding him with a brush of her fingers across his hair. "Yes, I'm glad you remembered," her eyes grew sad as she continued, "the trauma councilor will start visiting you soon- now that the doctor has stopped sedating you." She sighed and leaned back to peek towards the door suspiciously. "Their idea of therapy is just short of brutal," was a whispered addition after her furtive glance.

"I think... I've been through worse," he suggested. She looked down at the second package she'd brought and opened it carefully, and held a dripping dip of yogurt up for him to take. He leaned forward to take the offered treat. Yes, it did banish the taste of his main meal quite well. Licking his lips, he met her eyes again. "I don't hurt today," he told her. "How long have I been here?"

Giving a smile, she nodded, "They took the casts off yesterday. You've been here three weeks. A bit strange, that; you took half the normal time to heal."

He paled, "Three weeks? Oh god- my boss is going to fire me."

Her lips turned downwards slightly, "Where do you work?"

"Cephied Corp, as a programmer," he answered automatically. "The only coder who actually did anything in the whole department. I bet we lost the client; the project was due last week and it wasn't even close to finished." He looked down at his chest absently and picked at the paper gown he wore beneath the light blanket that covered his legs. "I really didn't get paid enough for all the work I did, though I suppose this'll teach me to walk to the Peking Sun for late night egg rolls just to save a parking fee."

Sylphiel burst into a giggle and rewarded his answer with another spoonful of yogurt and cherries. "You like eating there?"

Once more, his words were automatic, "I always get takeout, but yeah its cheap and it's the closest fast food within walking distance from my apartment... damn... I haven't paid the rent either then." He sighed, a line forming between his brows. "I'm so up to the neck in shit creek."

"At least your insurance is paying for most of your stay here," Sylphiel offered, green eyes sad. "No one plans for this sort of thing to happen."

He offered a wry smile to her. "I seem to be cursed with bad luck," he replied.

Her eyes turned even more sympathetic, "Yes, you had a very... extensive file," she murmured, looking away, setting down the cup of yogurt.

Closing his eyes tightly, he managed to shake his head, "Sylphiel- don't... look like that..."

She glanced back towards him, the light from the setting stun glittering off her hair as she moved to pull up the window shade. "It's just- so obvious she abused you, but no one ever did anything." She moved back to the side of his bed and bent over him again.

Licking his lips, he met her eyes, "Where could I have gone anyway? She was the only family I had left except for my grandfather, and I already lived with him- and don't bother mentioning foster care, that would have been even worse." Offering a smile, he found the strength to lift his hand, touching her cheek, though the tube in the back of his hand pulled oddly at his skin. His heart rate picked up again- damn machine, betraying him! She leaned in closer, one hand lifting to help support his.

"You're far stronger than I," she murmured, eyes shining with... admiration.

His eyes flicked upwards, "Think you could turn the volume on that thing down a bit?"

Giving a soft laugh, she stood and fiddled with it till the beeping became a bare murmur in the background. She sat again, still holding his now limp hand. "You want any more of this?" she asked, offering another spoon full of the intensely sweet yogurt and cherries from the bottom of the cup.

"One more," he answered, "I'll probably get sick from anything more." Sylphiel offered another smile and fed him one last spoon full. Chewing absently, he stared out the window at Flagoon and swallowed. "What about Gourry? I thought you liked him."

He looked back towards Sylphiel, she'd gone pale- then blushed brightly. Looking down and to the side, she swallowed. The fingers of the hand still holding his had gone cold. "How did you know about him? I never told you about him."

Shaking his head, he answered, "It was kind of obvious- wait..." he looked down, "That was..."

Sylphiel lifted her eyes, "Was what? How did you know about him?" she insisted, leaning forward slightly.

"That's from the stuff that didn't happen... where I destroyed Sairaag. And... Lina. Lina Inverse killed me, along with her friends: Princess Amelia, Gourry Gabriev, and Zelgadis Graywords... and you. Sylphiel Nels Raada- daughter of Eruk."

Her face had gone even paler. Looking down, he found the energy to tighten his hold on her, "Please- don't leave... I don't mean to frighten you."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Sylphiel shook her head, "How could you know... my middle name? I never told you those things- even when you were sedated!"

"I don't know," he answered. "Sylphiel? Who am I? What's my name? I... I'm a bit confused about that."

Sylphiel opened her large green eyes, swallowing. "Your name is David Graywords."

Relief flooded through him and he squeezed her hand. "Not Rezo then..." he murmured. Except... it was almost as if that name only belonged to half of him. Who was the other half then? What had he become since his death? "I died, didn't I?"

"For nearly a whole minute, just as the ambulance got there. They really thought they'd lost you, but then your heart started again," Sylphiel replied, staring at him. "It was strange... they said it started all on its own."

Twitching his toes, David stared down at them. "I think... something happened to me," he murmured, "Do you believe in souls?"

She nodded slightly, "Everyone has one, if that's what you mean?"

"I think I'm psychic now; I think my soul crossed to the other side and saw more than I was supposed to," he stated blandly. "There's things in my head that just shouldn't be there, and I'm having visions of stuff that didn't happen. I have a feeling that I did something real horrible that I died for, but I'm back now and that this... really is my second chance, except I'm still stuck in someone else's shoes." David sighed, "Please- I'm not crazy. I'm pretty sure I'll figure things out eventually, maybe it's some weird death experience or something that'll go away?" A yawn broke into his monologue.

Carefully, Sylphiel put his hand down, patting it gently and taking the tray, her expression still troubled. "You should rest," she murmured, putting his bed back down.

"Sylphiel," he called. She stopped, looking down at him, "I'm sorry, for frightening you. I didn't mean to... but... it's a lot better than what I thought I'd done to you."

She offered a faint smile. "Yes... I don't think I would like it if everyone I knew and loved suddenly died." Reaching out, Sylphiel put her hand to David's forehead, running her fingers through his hair. "It's funny... your chart says your eyes are blue."

Opening his eyes again, he looked up at her, "I remember- I saw myself... like a mirror- only his left eye was yellow, the right was green. He seemed... so sad. I took his hand and then everything went white and I pulled him with me. My eyes are blue, right?"

Shaking her head, Sylphiel ran her thumb across his eyebrow. "Your left is yellow," she told him. "The other is blue like the picture on your chart." She looked towards the door, "I have to get back to work now." Closing his eyes, David lifted one hand, catching hers and pulling it down a bit to breathe in the perfume dabbed on her wrist. He could pick out her personal scent beyond that and it smelled even sweeter than the fragrance of flowers she wore. He could see her still too- a slowly shifting pattern of green and gold and purple, a calm aura, someone inclined to healing, both physical and mental, but... she was unsettled by something.

"You shouldn't forget your own wants and needs," he told her softly, "Can't live life without stepping on a few people's toes, there's no way around it. Pamper yourself from time to time, otherwise you may never get that kind of attention." He smiled faintly. "People forget the invisible helpers. Girls like Lina are the ones they remember." He rubbed his thumb in her palm gently, then finally let her hand go. She reluctantly withdrew it, touching his jaw faintly, sending a thrill through his heart. Taking the tray, she left the room.

Sighing at his own stupidity, he let his body relax, readying for sleep. What had possessed him to say that to her? Well... she was a really nice girl- when not pissed about losing her home. She- she seemed to care for him too. A smile curved David's lips at the memory of her scent. No, he really could still smell it as long as he kept his eyes closed.

* * *

He'd been visited by a trauma councilor every afternoon for the last week, ever since the doctors stopped sedating him. It was an interesting change, but otherwise he was stuck in that little room with nothing to do except sleep, but after a while, David had gotten more than enough and didn't want any more, especially since he had bad dreams when he slept. Mostly the dreams were about his mother, Eris, except things were more than a little confused. Sometimes he was her son, and sometimes he was her lover and neither seemed quite right. The only thing the dreams really had in common was that she was always mad at him. David kept his mouth shut about those weird dreams, or memories, and he stopped talking to Sylphiel about them as she might be required to report his continuing delusions to the councilor. He'd missed enough work not to be stuck in the psychiatric ward for observation.

That wasn't to say that he stopped talking to her altogether; he enjoyed her company- more than he'd ever enjoyed his ex-girlfriend Samantha's anyway. Sam was a good lover, but she wasn't the best when it came to conversation and she certainly wasn't the type he'd want to marry or have kids with. Sylphiel... she on the other hand was wonderful, and this Gourry he vaguely 'remembered' was a complete moron to not see her and realize that she loved him. It was enough to make him want to bash his head against the wall.

At last, David had been unhooked from the various machines, including the one monitoring his heart, and allowed to get up and take a piss on his own, instead of dripping into a bag hung off the side of his bed out of sight. How disgusting...

David had also started daily physical therapy to return his muscle tone. He'd taken to giving himself his own physical therapy by moving around in bed a bit, occasionally sitting up, stretching his legs and flexing his arms- he was a little sore from doing things like that, but he could definitely feel his toes again and his arms felt stronger. He smirked to himself as he continually surprised them by being able to do their little exercises with more ease than they expected. Admittedly, David still needed the practice, but he didn't have to be in their gym to do some stuff.

There was, however, a growing certainty that there was something... different. Other than the fact that he had sprouted new memories, not only of a time when Sairaag was destroyed, but also of a time even before that which was devoid of all visual information. Increasingly, his dreams were a mix of blackness spotted with colored blobs and voices, along with incredible smells, or they were of his mother, standing over him while wearing something that looked like it came from a dominatrix porno flick. His mother had always looked that crazy, but certainly had never worn black leather and spiked shoulder-guards.

David sighed and worked on stretching his legs while lying in bed. Was he supposed to be recovering this quickly? He didn't know, he wasn't a med student, but it did seem a bit fast.

Then again, that was because he'd been healing himself.

Blinking twice, David shook his head, what a weird thought that had been. Or maybe not so weird, after all, he could see people's auras, and natural energies in the world around him; why not use them to heal himself? Maybe if he were better, he'd get better food.

"_But... but... if I get better, then I wouldn't be able to talk to Sylphiel,"_ his mind protested weakly.

"But if I get better," he murmured out loud, voice a shocking sound in the silence. "_If I get better, then I can see her outside of her work. She said she couldn't date patients_," his mind continued after his lips were quickly shut over whatever else he was going to say. He lifted a hand and ran it through his hair; it was getting long again, and starting to do that funky wave on the sides. Maybe if he tied it back into a tail till it got long enough to hang straight down... Yes, having hair longer than Rezo's would be good.

David lifted his hands, rubbing his head with a groan. "What do I care about Rezo?" he demanded of no one in particular. There was no immediate answer to that one, and David shook his head. He was tired of being in bed. Eyeing the metal railing on the sides of his bed speculatively, he reached down and ran his hand along the side, and finding a lever he lowered the rail with a soft clang. Sitting up, he pushed the blanket off. Beneath the blanket he was wearing nothing but his paper gown, but it was unlikely anyone would walk in on him now.

In all the time he'd been here, no one had come to visit him except Lina. There were reasonable explanations for this; the most likely of all the people he knew would visit was his cousin. But Zel was off on tour and couldn't just up and leave to come visit, if he'd even been told about the accident. Then there was his grandfather, who lived six hours away. His mother lived with his grandfather and would have found it difficult to come visit- which was just as well because he didn't want to see her; doubly so now that he was having such strange dreams about her. Next there was Paul, and he was on a business trip till the end of the month or more. After Paul were David's co-workers, but they had lives of their own- as much as any programmer had a life- and would be too busy with work. Lastly, his girlfriend, Samantha... though they hadn't really broken up, he hadn't seen her in four months. He suddenly realized he didn't miss her anymore. Admittedly she disappeared like this fairly often, only to show up on payday just after he got home from work, but his sudden change of heart was strange, since before the accident he'd thought he'd pine away to nothing without her. Did death always have that effect?

Taking a breath, David sighed and slid his feet to the cold tile floor. He collected up his IV tubing and stand in his right hand. It felt... right being there. It felt like a staff, but it didn't have the jingling rings on it. David missed the jinglies, then wondered at himself for doing so, but stood anyway and headed towards the door in a stately pace, bringing his makeshift staff along with him. A draft flew up his gown. "A bit short," he muttered to himself and shook his head as he tried to pull it down to cover more of his thighs.

Out in the hall, David stopped, looking both ways down the hall, then closed his eyes, looking again. "Halls of death," he muttered, "Spirits... everywhere. How can anyone get any rest here? Maybe I should send them? ...or not. Not getting paid for it."

He stopped at that. "Since when was I a merc?" he asked himself. He opened his eyes and stared at the door opposite of his. It was closed; there wasn't anyone in that room. "I'm not a merc. The world runs on money and it's bloody hard to live without it."

"Unless you're a priest. Then people donate stuff to you." David paused at that, chewing on the inside of his cheek, "Guess you're right about that one. But I'm no priest either. I'm a coder. ... I was a priest. I can do priestly things, like exorcisms and marriages and healing the blind. That's what priests do, right?"

Turning to the left, as the right side was a dead end, David meandered down the hall, eyes half-lidded, but he wasn't really seeing either the physical or the astral world, but something of both. It was an interesting blend, the best of both, he figured. "Yeah, that's what priests do... and lead mass. They lead mass too."

"Ick, talking in front of people, I'd rather kiss Eris than do that... what if I said the wrong thing and they realized I'm not-"

"Hey!"

David stopped, blinking twice to clear his vision. "Huh?" he looked around, finding that he'd wandered into the nurse's station for his hall. The man at the desk had risen from his seat and was coming around it, heading towards David at a rush. David simply stood there, confused as to what the problem was. "Uhm," he murmured when the nurse reached his side and grabbed his arm, "Something wrong?"

The man, a blonde with brown eyes and plain looks, shook his head, "You shouldn't be out of bed- you shouldn't be _able_ to be out of bed!"

Glancing around, David's lips pulled downward slightly, "I'm not? I feel fine, really," he looked back towards the blonde, "I need to make a call."

"No, sir, you need to get back in bed," the blonde said firmly, trying to support David, who definitely felt that he didn't NEED this man quite so close and stepped back a bit.

Still, the man insisted on keeping a grip on David's arm. "Really, I'm fine. Please let go."

"David!" this time, the interrupting voice was Sylphiel's and she came hurrying over from further down the hall in the direction of the elevator and the nurse's lounge. "Something wrong?"

Shaking his head, David started to speak when the nurse clinging to him rushed to speak over him, "Mr. Graywords walked out here on his own."

Turning her eyes towards David, Sylphiel lifted a hand from the stack of sheets she was holding to brush some of her hair back from her face. "I got tired of looking at my room," David explained, "and I feel fine, really."

"I can't haul him back to his room on my own," the blonde said, eyes begging Sylphiel for assistance, but she shook her head.

Giving a slight smile, she glanced around, "He's been doing very well this last week, let him rest out here," she said instead, "It won't hurt him." David grinned at her.

Reluctantly, the male nurse shook his head, and David turned to look at him. His nametag said K. Smith, and David closed his eyes, "Kyle," he murmured softly, recognizing the aura. "Is your mother better? She gotten over her cold yet?" the hand holding his arm went cold. Opening his eyes again, David blinked, then blushed, "Oh my, I said something weird again, didn't I?" he looked at Sylphiel.

Sylphiel blushed lightly as well, her beautiful green eyes- eyes he could just fall into- flicked aside, glancing towards Kyle before turning back to David, "Um, yes, I ...think you did."

David chewed his lower lip, "Sorry," he murmured, then shook his head, turning to head over to the couch set in the lounge area. The room was more like a widening of the hall, but separated from the hall by a low wall that allowed access through two openings. There was a TV set against that wall, a soft pale green sofa facing it. Behind the sofa were a couple chairs and a low table with a half finished puzzle on it. Beyond the puzzle table was a window that looked out onto a section of the hospital grounds. Glancing around, David changed course from the couch and went to the window.

"What ...what do you mean?" Kyle asked, finally overcoming his shock, then looked towards Sylphiel. "You told him, didn't you?" he demanded.

"Told me what?" David asked, turning to look back at the man, "That your mother has been sick with a cold lately and has asthma? I already knew that." He turned away abruptly, looking out the window, "I told her to dust more often and get rid of the bugs. –_I-_ couldn't really do anything about it since it was something she was naturally inclined towards."

Slowly, the hair on the back of David's neck stood on end, "Damn it! I did it again!" He put both hands to his head, "You guys're really going to lock me up now, aren't you?" he looked back over his shoulder to find Kyle pale-faced and staring at him. Sylphiel was shaking her head.

Stepping forward, Sylphiel put a hand on Kyle's shoulder and turned him towards the nurse's station, "It's okay, I told him," she said, "He's just kidding."

David blinked once, "Yeah, kidding. Bad joke, sorry." His voice as a little too deadpan to be believable, but Kyle went back to the nurses desk and sat down while Sylphiel came over to him and took his arm.

"Come on," she whispered and he gladly went with her. She was more pleasant company than the man. She stared at the ground as they walked at a fairly slow pace back towards his room, him dragging his IV stand, her holding the sheets.

Halfway down the hall and she still hadn't spoken. David gave up waiting for her to and said softly, "Sorry... I keep saying weird things and I don't mean to, it... I just know those things, I don't know how, but I do."

Sylphiel didn't answer, just shook her head, and David continued trying. "It's like I've met them all before and helped them somehow... Like I was some sort of priest and I could actually HEAL people, not just give them medicine, though I did that too, but I could bring people back from the brink of death in moments and heal the blind!"

Her lips were turning downwards. "Look, I... I can prove it!" David definitely regretted those words right after he spoke them, but Sylphiel looked up again and he had to continue, "Um, are you... bruised anywhere? Or I could cut myself, that'd be more visible I think." Sylphiel went pale and frowned again. "Or not," David continued before she could say anything, "Um, how about I heal someone else?" he offered. "Anyone on this hall that's really messed up?"

"That'd be just about everyone," Sylphiel finally said, a frown still pulling at her lips but interest in her eyes. "I...suppose it wouldn't hurt to let you try..." she gave in gently and glanced aside, then back down the hall towards the nurses station where Kyle had his face buried in a magazine. Turning, Sylphiel opened a door and stepped in, "wait out here a second," she said softly and entered. The door closed behind her and David was left to stand there staring at it.

She looked really good in the skirt version of her uniform instead of those one-size-fits-all-badly baggy pants and white shirt she'd been wearing lately. Rather abruptly, David became acutely aware that the only thing he was wearing was a tough paper gown down to his mid-thighs and absolutely nothing underneath. His toes curled under, face growing hot.

"_But she'd probably been the one who was sponge bathing me before this, why's it matter now? Besides, what's so bad about not wearing clothes?"_ he told himself reassuringly.

The door opened again and Sylphiel peeked out and pulled him in. "Don't touch her," she said softly, "or do you have to...?"

"No," David replied, and shook his head, "Don't have to touch her." Closing his eyes, he moved forward, walking silently, his embarrassment forgotten, as well as his IV stand. Thankfully, Sylphiel caught hold of it as his hand slipped away and he approached the bedside of the critically injured woman. She was badly burned, so badly that they couldn't put bandages on her, only a coating of antiseptic jell. All she could do was lay there and suffer, fully exposed to the air. It was warm in the room, but that was so that the woman didn't catch cold from being without covers.

Now...how did it go? David stopped, frowning slightly. Was he about to make a total fool of himself? He had no earthly idea of how to go about doing this healing stuff. What had made him think he could in the first place? Or was it delusional death experience stuff? Why had Sylphiel even believed that he could? Was it his miraculous recovery? But he'd always healed fast! He squeezed his eyes shut tighter as panic began to set in, but just then Sylphiel shifted, and the sound of the metal hook on the IV stand clinking against the poll seemed to connect with something inside of him.

It felt... as if he'd just had the controls to his own body taken from him and he watched in wonder as his hands lifted. Well, watched was a relative term. He felt it happening, felt with extreme sensitivity the way the air parted to let his arms pass. He could smell the burnt flesh of the woman, a metallic tang, a scorched stench that clung to the back of his throat, a slight medicinal smell from the jell, and the scent of Sylphiel, like flowers, except now he knew that wasn't perfume she wore, she just smelled like clean air and flowers naturally. He could feel the grain of the tile on the floor under his bare feet and was acutely aware of the grimy feel of his hair and skin and the scratch of the paper gown he wore.

As for sight, it was as if it had never existed for him, what he "saw" was not sight at all, but another level of his other senses. Where the woman lay there was a blob of sullen red overlaying a healthier amber and blue. Beyond her, there was a hazy shape of someone who'd died in the same room and not quite moved on. There were other energies, the flowing of the air through the vent in the ceiling, the ambient hum of energy just floating in the air. On himself, there were two connections to another plane entirely, one tainted dark, the other white, but both were disturbed. That was easily fixed. This was like his weird dreams, a lot like his weird dreams in fact. It gave David the shivers, or it would have, if he were in control of his body.

His hands turned, lifting palm facing palm, but not touching. The ambient energy in the room shifted, drifting towards his hands, slowly at first, then with greater speed as a small speck of light grew between his palms. The speck grew larger as he shaped the energies into a sphere, pulling on it to create a vacuum into which more energy flowed. He shifted his grip on it, then turned his hands to hold the ball of energy out over the wounded woman.

Behind him, Sylphiel gasped, but he ignored her- or half of him did. David tried to turn his head and look back at her, but he couldn't. He was trapped in his own body, and whatever had hold of him was concentrating fully on what was happening.

What appeared to be happening was that his hands were shining the light he'd gathered down on the woman's body, eating away at the crimson shadow that covered the gold and blue beneath. There was a soft humming that accompanied this, one on the edge of hearing; high pitched but soothing. "I understand now," his lips said softly, "what happened." He got no answer, but didn't really need one, though he didn't continue his thought.

David wished HE knew what the rest of that thought had been, cause he sure wasn't privy to it, despite the fact that his mouth had said it.

"_Later... I'll speak to you later, when we don't have watchers."_ This voice- his own, David knew well enough, it felt like himself... like that conversation he'd had with himself earlier about priests. What in the hell was going on? "_Later_," the voice repeated and David fell silent, watching as his hands did something with the weird light. Finally, he was beginning to grow a bit tired and his hands lowered, "I don't have as much energy as I used to, my lines of power were disturbed in the transition from my plane to this one, and the ... acquisition of a new body," David's lips said as he turned to face Sylphiel, who was even more lovely in this "vision", "She should recover more quickly now, or at least enough to put bandages on her. She'll still have some scarring, but that's better than being dead."

He opened his eyes finally to see Sylphiel's large shining eyes. Her hands were lifted near her mouth, shaking fingers just barely touching her lips and David wanted to kiss them.

"_Damn! She looks hot like that!"_ David thought.

"_Hm... I suppose she does..."_ was another thought, somewhat more guarded in its emotional response, but David could tell that his strong reaction to Sylphiel was due to all portions of his mind being in agreement on the subject. "_Oh, fine... yes, she's very attractive... if that's what you mean by 'hot'..."_ This part was more of a reluctant grumble of admission and David suppressed a grin.

"So, you believe me now?" he asked, then glanced toward the door as he heard a noise from the hall, someone moving equipment down the hallway. Stepping forward lightly, David caught up his IV stand and Sylphiel's arm and looked out the door to see an orderly pushing a cart into the elevator. He pulled her out of the room as soon as the elevator closed, and down the hall to his room where he lightly closed the door. "Well?" he asked once they were alone. Outside, it had gotten dark, and David was suddenly aware that he hadn't eaten lately and was really hungry. "_Happens after using large amounts of magic."_

Sylphiel's eyes were still wide and shining, shocked, but pleasantly so, "It was... amazing," she whispered, "You... held up your hands and there was... there was light and she started breathing better and her heart stabilized and her skin started growing back- David it was amazing!" she stepped forward, her arms going around his neck.

David knew that he hadn't intended it, and she hadn't intended it, but that other portion of himself- who or whatever it was that had taken over before- did so again. His arms went around her, pulled her flush against his body as his lips met hers. Sylphiel gasped softly into the kiss, then her eyes slid closed and she melted into it, by then, David had no objections- if he'd ever had any they'd been blasted away by the kiss, and all three of them enjoyed it.

Obviously, she hadn't been kissed very often, but David made up for it. First, he kissed her lips fully, then nibbled her lower lip, pressed in and kissed her hard, then soft, then slipped between her lips when she gasped for air. His tongue explored her mouth, caressing every surface he could reach. It took him a moment more to realize that his hands hadn't been idle either; they'd traveled over her back in a light massage, his fingers digging into the muscles between and beneath her shoulder blades, then down her spine to her lower back and sliding down to cup her rounded butt, pulling her closer against him.

"_Oh Cephied, I want her! This is torture!"_

"_Then take her. She wants us."_

"_Us? But... I can't just..."_

"_There's a bed right behind you... I want her too. She smells very nice... she tastes even better."_

Sylphiel gave a soft mumble into his mouth, leaning close against him, her stomach pressed against his hips, fingers combing through his hair as she tried her best to keep up with his kisses. David could feel her heart beating- so fast and hard. Okay, so she wanted him, but this wasn't the place to do things like that... was it? ...kinky... Well, she was a nurse.

He stepped back slightly, breaking the kiss and giving a smile, then released her. Blushing crimson, Sylphiel put her hands to her face, lips slightly parted as she gazed up at him. "I- I- I-"

"Have to get back to work," he finished for her, "I know," he made a gentle gesture towards the door, and turning, she fled the room.

"_Now, why'd you do that?"_ was the sour question of the other half of his mind.

"Because... she does have work to do, and ... I think she'll respect me more for letting her go. Least she knows the option's available now, rather than that Gourry guy, whom I have never met but seem to know quite a bit about."

"_It's because I know him."_

David stood there for a long moment, blinking in confusion for a moment before he started forward, heading into the bathroom. He turned on the water in the sink and washed his face, then stood there, leaning against the sink as he stared at his reflection in the mirror, watching water drip down the sharp edge of his jaw to his chin. David figured he was handsome enough; girls didn't seem bothered when he smiled at them anyway, but he didn't have a lot of experience with relationships. His hair was dark red with a purple shine to it, or it could have been light red-ish purple, either way, it was about shoulder length and had a terrible tendency to flare out at the sides in a weird wave that no amount of hair gel could cure. "Grow it out, or cut it off," he sighed. "Now, how is it that I know someone I've never met?" he asked himself, staring into his own eyes in the mirror, which had indeed changed, his left one was yellow.

"_Because –_I-_ know him,"_ was the repeat of the previous answer, "_I... am not sure how exactly it happened, I think its because you grabbed me when you died, and didn't let go when you were brought back. Anyway, here I am."_

Closing his eyes, David thought back, and thought hard, he'd said something of this sort to Sylphiel before, but those had just been crazy theories! "I'm losing my mind."

"'_Have to stay together', that's what you told me and grabbed me. Not that I mind that I'm... partially alive again, but it could be better."_

"Could be worse," David added that which was unspoken.

Lifting his head, the young man's eyes opened to find that another stared back at him from the reflection. "Indeed," he murmured, tone of voice different, more dark and bitter. "I could still be dead. It is strange, though. People shouldn't be able to have more than one soul, yet there's plenty of room for us both in this body. We fit together quite well, as if we were... parts of the same soul."

David shivered, wrenching control of his body back and shook his head, putting his hands in his hair and pulling lightly, "Gyha!" he groaned, "All this death and stuff!"

"_Don't like it? Sorry, that's life... or as little of it as I've seen,"_ his co-pilot replied. "_Look, we're stuck like this till I can figure out a way to get myself out of you... and... maybe it's better that way. ...you know more about the 'proper' way to act in your world than I do. I'd probably just get myself killed again."_

"Or just put in jail for rape," David muttered and peeked at the mirror again, only to find himself. "I'm really friggen nuts."

He snorted, yellow left eye flashing, "No, just possessed. Say, how long till we get out of here? I'm tired of this room."

Lowering his eyes again, David rubbed his face and sighed, turning to lean against the door of the small bathroom. "Dunno," he muttered, "but I'm bout ready to leave too. The food sucks here. And I'd like some real clothes. Wonder what Sylphiel will do about my weird powers?"

"_-Your- weird powers? Ha! I was the one doing all the work. Who cares what she does anyway? She seemed rather impressed with it, which is strange, because when I knew her, she could do the same thing. It would just take her longer."_ The co-pilot shrugged slightly, then pushed off the door and ran his fingers through his hair. Turning, he frowned as he found the IV tube hanging from the crack of the door. "Oops... what's this supposed to do?"

Lifting the tube, David eyed it, then the back of his hand where the tube had been attached, and shrugged again, "No clue." Opening the door, he took hold of the IV stand and dragged it back over to the bed, shut the valve on the bag and looped the tube across it, then climbed back into bed. Outside, it was getting darker and David's stomach growled. "Damn, when's dinner?"

"Now," Kyle's voice from the door spoke and the young man stepped in, carrying a tray. "You shouldn't be sitting up like that- what happened to your IV?"

David shrugged and grimaced. "It fell out," he replied and offered his hand over as the man took the tube and plugged it back in, having to prick a new hole in the back of David's hand for it, which he hardly felt. "I still need to make a call- so I can get some clothes and someone to pick me up when I leave."

"You'll not be leaving for a while yet," Kyle admonished, "Now, lay down." He locked the side rail back into position with a warning glare.

Heaving a sigh, David shifted and flopped down on the bed, crossing his ankles as Kyle raised the back of the bed, before setting the tray across the bars. "I can feed myself," he stated when Kyle started to offer him the straw to the glass of mush.

Kyle's gaze was hard, and not very kind. "Odd how you can't when Ms. Raada is here," he replied.

A smile curved David's lips, though not of his own volition, and he murmured, "Not really, she's a lot prettier than you are." This got a shocked look from Kyle, and David picked up the glass on his own, settling back in the bed to sip at the horrid mush. Overcoming his shock, Kyle's face turned pale with anger, then red with embarrassment, or perhaps it was the other way around, but either way, David knew he'd hit a very sore spot with the young man. Crushes were rather difficult things indeed, and if David's co-pilot were in the least bit interested in not making people upset, he would have been a bit less... obvious about things. David mentally put his head in his hands.

"_You're FAR too worried about what other people think, David,"_ the voice that was his, yet not, said mildly. "_Besides, you want to give up a 'hottie' like Sylphiel to this schmuck? He's about as stupid as Gourry when it comes to making his intentions towards a girl clear. Besides, he'll find another girl to have a crush on soon enough."_

Silence fell between the two of them, and while David was distracted, his co-pilot finished off their dinner and sent Kyle packing from the room with another mysteriously infuriating smile.

"Oh Cephied! He thinks I'm a jerk now!" David groaned and put his face in his hands, "I've got a split personality and I'm crazy and-"

"Shut up. Quit your moaning and whining. I've already explained this to you once," the co-pilot snapped, hands curling into fists. "Now, go to sleep. We'll see about getting out of here tomorrow."

David shook his head, having been given control of his body back once more, "Don't you dare just... just..."

"_What? Blow a hole in the wall and _walk_ out? ...Okay, so the thought had occurred to me, but fine. I won't. But how are you supposed to get out of here?"_

Again, David shook his head, "We get released by the doctors, that's how... I've been talking to myself in the third person," he realized and lifted his hands to cover his face. "Oh Cephied-"

"I said stop it!" his co-pilot snarled, "damn it all. Fine, if you won't shut up and go to sleep, I'll PUT you to sleep." David watched in horror as his hands lifted, a ball of light glowing between them then- it fell on his head. He knew of nothing else after that.


	6. Escape from the White Prison

Sylphiel was setting breakfast across the bars of his bed when he woke. She had the sides of her hair clipped back and cherry pink lipstick on. "Good morning, sleepy," she said cheerfully.

"_See? No hard feelings!"_ David silently pointed out to his co-pilot, then wondered at himself for doing so.

The other voice gave a soft "_Hrfm. Okay, fine. So you were right."_

"Morning," David replied and lifted a hand to yawn behind it. She finished setting up his breakfast and assisted him in eating it. It was indeed like Kyle had said- he could have done it himself, except, honestly, he liked Sylphiel's attention too much to tell her so. Once he finished, she set the glass aside and placed her hands in her lap once more, smoothing her white skirt, which showed off her beautiful legs.

Tipping her head to the side, Sylphiel brushed her bangs back from her forehead and smiled softly, "Sorry about having Kyle bring you dinner last night, I was a little behind on my work..."

David quickly shook his head, "No- don't apologize, it... was my fault," he gave a slight smile in return and sat up further, catching her chin and stealing a kiss. She blushed, but returned it. "You didn't get in trouble, though, did you?" he asked, sitting back.

Cheeks still bright pink, Sylphiel shook her head, "I wasn't that far behind, and... the excitement over Mrs. Gouch's improvement was enough to keep them from noticing any lack on my part." Her eyes lifted again and she gazed at him with wonder, "That... was really amazing... truly a miracle."

Giving a snort and scratching his nose, David gave a humble laugh, "Yeah, you think I should make a booth on a street corner?"

Sylphiel blushed even more deeply, but laughed, "No," she answered, "but..." she looked down, "It...feels wrong... for you to hide such a gift but... but..."

"Shit, if everyone knew, they'd never leave me alone. Or think I was a charlatan and find some way to make life uncomfortable," David finished for her and shook his head, rubbing his face. "Sylphiel, I really don't think I need to be here any more, I feel fine, and I've got my... eh, new abilities to fix anything that hasn't already healed up on its own... I really need to go see if I've still got a home, or job, or car." Again, he sat forward, catching her hand where it rested in her lap and smiled coyly, "And then, you can let me take you out to dinner."

Her eyes flicked downwards, hidden by her lashes as she bit her lower lip, shoulder shaking. "Alright," was her soft reply and her emerald pools of life lifted to look at him once more, "No one's ever flirted with me like this before..." she said with a small giggle.

David shook his head, "Then they're all damn fools not to see how wonderful you are, Sylphiel. You're beautiful, smart, and kind... and might I also mention that you smell very nice." This too caused her to blush and David lifted her hands to place kisses upon her fingertips. "I know just the place to take you."

Laughing softly, Sylphiel didn't pull her hands from his grip, but continued to blush, "Oh... alright," she murmured, "I'll see what I can do- but!" she lifted a finger and pressed it against his nose as he was about to start kissing her hands again, "Only if you tell me something..." she leaned forward, eyes half-lidded, "Something secret that only a true healer would know about me?"

In return, David leaned forward, still clasping her hands where they now rested on his thigh. He didn't say anything in response, but moved in to take a kiss from her lips. Though his lips were busy, his mind wasn't idle. What would she take as a good answer to that question?

"_Tell her she's wearing pink underwear,"_ his co-pilot suggested facetiously. "_Or tell her that her mother died when she was six when she fell from a horse at the estate and broke her neck."_

Slowly, reluctantly, David drew back and, with his eyes closed, delivered the latter statement. Opening his eyes again, he found hers shining with tears, "I'm sorry, I should have picked something less..."

"No, no... It's okay, but that was on the news, so..."

David frowned slightly, "Hm, then I'll need to tell you something more personal." He peered at her with a playful smirk, "You're wearing pink underwear." Her face flushed bright red and she folded her arms on her chest, "Got that one right too, didn't I?"

"_Speaking of which, how DID I know that one?" David asked silently._

His co-pilot laughed mentally, "_You didn't notice her bra strap, but I did. There, see? When she leans over."_

"How did you know?" Sylphiel asked.

Grinning, David sat back and replied, "I'm a great healer and I'm aware of all things, great and small," he replied haughtily. She reached over and slapped his shoulder, but lightly. "So, do I get recommended for release?"

Sighing, Sylphiel sat back as well, "Oh, alright," she replied, "I'll talk to the head doctor of this section." Shifting, she reluctantly took the tray and stood, "You be good, now, and don't say any more weird stuff," she leaned forward to receive a kiss, then took the tray, turned, and sauntered from the room. David and his co-pilot both enjoyed the view.

Heaving a gusty sigh, David settled back in bed, turning his head to look out the window at the fine view of Flagoon. "You said you'd explain today," he whispered to himself.

"_I did, didn't I?"_ came the voice that was his, yet wasn't. It was like... having an imaginary friend that wasn't imaginary and ...not all that friendly. _"I suppose... I'll start with our Deaths. ...What you remember of Lina with a sword, and Lina with a..."_

"Motorcycle," David supplied.

"_Whatever,"_ his co-pilot growled. _"They both happened, just not both to you. I figured this out when you started to panic over casting a healing spell. I knew I could do it, yet you didn't, and the incongruence hit me. I'm not you... yet I am, and I have a feeling that even if you hadn't grabbed me, we would have ended up together."_

David shook his head slightly, lifted a hand and rubbed his face, "I'm still confused... so who are you if you're not just ...me talking to myself?"

In his mind, he could envision his other self, the one he'd seen before at his death. The image looked down and cleared his throat behind his fist, _"I...well... in this world... you're Rezo Grayword's grandson, meaning... Zelgadis is your cousin. Well... um, you're not really Rezo's grandson. You're his copy- as I was. Your body wasn't made the same way as mine, but it's definitely the same. There're flaws in your body that shouldn't be there if you were ...natural. So..."_

Silently, David waited... and waited... but his co-pilot didn't answer. He sighed, "Okay, so that means what? I'm a clone of my grandfather and you were too? How's that make what happened... possible? If what you say happened really did... which you haven't gotten around to saying in the first place."

"I will if you'd shut up!" the other snapped. _"...I was just collecting my thoughts, that's all. ...it's...difficult... to really speak of."_ Again, he fell silent, and David bit his tongue to keep from saying anything.

"Stop that... Now, where was I?" 

David put both hands to his face this time, "The point. You were getting to the point." He sighed, "You talk just like grandfather."

"_Oh, right. Um. So, you're not crazy, there really are two of us in your head. I can do healing and spells, and you... don't do anything constructive as far as I can see."_

Lowering his hands, David sat up a bit, "Hey! I've got a job that pays, so lay off. Don't see how this silly healing stuff could get me any money when I can't let people know about it."

In his mind, his ghostly buddy growled, _"And why not?"_ he asked sourly.

Closing his eyes, David replied silently, "_Because, if people know I can miraculously cure people from life threatening injuries or blindness, then several things would happen, probably at the same time, and none of them comfortable. First would be that the various religious groups would be after my hide because they'd think I was their god in human form, or that I was a fake and had to be burned. Second, powerful people from around the world would be trying to use me to heal themselves or to inflict diseases on people. Not to forget that other people would be trying to either imitate me, kill me, or worship me. If by some strange chance- everything went well and no one decided to get rid of me and the various religions didn't think I was some sort of saint, and the political factions didn't think I was a tool, then we'd constantly be plagued by hoards of people begging for healing."_

Silence met this longwinded explanation, a silence that lasted nearly a full minute.

"_I don't want to be used again,"_ came the final comment on that subject, meek and cowed. David winced, the Other sounded like he'd had a pretty hard time of it.

Taking a slow, deep breath, David settled back in bed again, staring out the window at the stiff breeze that played in the upper branches of Flagoon. "So who are you, and how did you get into me, and how are you going to get out?" he asked, changing the subject.

Even now, silence persisted from that corner of his mind, but at last, his co-pilot replied, _"You grabbed me... I grabbed back, and then you returned to your body and brought me with you. As for how I'm going to get out... There're two options. The first is to... simply leave, though I think that might be a bit more difficult than just letting go. The other is to create a body of my own in this world, but for that I would need part of Rezo, and would have to boot whatever soul came to inhabit the body out."_

"And that wouldn't be too nice, considering your life," David finished for him. "You still haven't told me your name."

Again, that blasted silence, but this time, their conversation was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. "G'mornin," a cheerful voice blustered. "Whom were you talking to...?"

Swinging his head around, David turned to stare at... of all people... his boss. Varon Seaddle was a large man who filled the door, and the room, both physically as well as audibly. He coughed and snorted and shuffled his way into the room, dressed in a fine suit of soft gray, salted brown hair slicked back from his face. David swallowed his shock and smiled instead, noticing the flowers that were all but dwarfed in the man's hand. "Myself. Thought I'd look into fiction writing," he lied, "what brings you?"

Varon huffed and shuffled his feet, looming in the doorway still, but after a gesture from David, entered, "I'm so _very_ sorry to hear about the accident... and... well, for not coming immediately, but... I just couldn't get away from the office. Everything happened at once!"

"You had to whip the other coders into getting the project done in time and had to ride them hard," David translated. "I understand. Did you lose the contract?"

Sighing with relief, Varon shook his head and turned his attention towards shoving his flowers into the vase with the other ones. "Nope. They used the framework you'd written already and fleshed it out. So, how are you doing?" He said with a final push at the flowers.

David stretched slightly, "Ready to get out of here. Sure, there's a cute nurse that feeds me, but she can't date patients. Hospital policy."

Throwing back his head, Varon laughed uproariously, sort of like a mule's bray. "Good one, Graywords, good one! I'm glad you're well enough to make jokes!"

Giving a shake of his head, David shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed, "Actually, I'm about completely healed," he said honestly, "I'm hoping to be free within the week... but, uh...mmm. Mr. Seaddle... do I still have a job? Or is that why you came to see me?"

Varon spun around, his hand brushing the vase and sending it crashing to the floor. "Oah- oops, I'm ... sorry about that I-"

"Don't worry about it," David replied. "Really, Mr. Seaddle, it's fine," he leaned over, watching as the large man crouched to pick up shards of glass.

With a heavy sigh, Varon placed the shards he'd collected on the table the vase had fallen from. "I suppose you could just buy a new one," he stated slyly, "with the raise I'm giving you." David tipped his head to the side and frowned slightly as he continued. "I realized how much work you actually do around the place, and anyway," Varon paused to clear his throat loudly, "company policy is that I can't fire you just for getting hit by a car. You do good work, Graywords. Damn good work, it's your work that's gotten us all the contracts. Doing without you has been hell, so I fired Netts, and you've got his office," he finished with a rush.

David lunged forward, "Holy shit- his... office, your kidding!"

Varon took a shocked step back at David's sudden movement, and then laughed loudly. "Nope, no joke! You're the new head of the programming department."

Shaking his head, David flopped back again, "Damn... I was... so expecting something completely different." He shook his head again and lifted his hands to rub his face. "Wow. An office with a window... wow."

"So, now that you've got the good news- and I'm very glad to see that you were awake and well enough to hear it- I'd best be getting back to work." Varon clapped his hands loudly and rubbed them together. "I hope to see you soon, Graywords. We've got a new contract lined up, this time with the SSFC, working directly with the head of the Seyruun Space Flight Center's mechanics department. We've got funding directly from Prince Phillionel, so feel free to go all out with it!"

Biting his lower lip, David continued to shake his head and started laughing, "Oh Cephied!" he wheezed, "What strange luck!" he gasped and wiped his eyes, "Alright, alright, I could do some preliminary stuff if I had an idea of what exactly he wants this 'bot to do, even if I'm still stuck here for another month, which I hope I'm not. Seriously." Lifting his head, David looked towards Varon with a grin, "See ya when I get out, boss."

Nodding firmly, Varon stepped back once, then frowned slightly, "You know... your... eye changed color."

David winced, "Yeah. I know." He shrugged, "I can still see out it."

"Right, well, get better soon!" Varon ordered and left the room.

Sighing, David lifted his hands, drawing power between his palms into a ball, then dropped it on the floor amidst the water and glass, staring in shock as the pieces of the vase slid back together, the flowers and water returned, and it flew back up onto the table. "Now that's a handy thing," he muttered, staring at his hands.

"_Yeah, whatever,"_ his co-pilot muttered.

Lowering his voice, David whispered, "You still haven't answered my question. What's your name? You know mine." Silence was his answer for the longest time, and David closed his eyes, reaching deep within himself, in a way he hadn't known how to do till his co-pilot started flinging spells around. His vision darkened from that of backlit eyelids to pure blackness, then shifted over to the color of dried blood and dead grass with a streak of pale new green in a hazy mist around him. And before him... hunched down over his knees was his co-pilot. The Other wore a tattered red cloak with heavy shoulder guards, beneath which were white robes, with a large gash in the front over his heart. Blood soaked down nearly to his knees.

The Other lifted his head and turned slightly, eyes widening when he spotted David walking towards him. "W-what are you doing here?" he asked, shrinking in on himself.

David shook his head as he stopped beside the Other and knelt. "You wouldn't answer," he stated, "So I came to get the answer. Is that alright? I won't be stuck here forever, will I?" he said with a frown, looking around uneasily.

Bi-colored eyes turned down and away, and from that angle, David definitely saw the resemblance between him and Grandpa Rezo, "No," the Other murmured, "You just... will look asleep and not know how much time is passing outside of here."

Giving a nod, David settled down on the... nonexistent floor. "Alright, so we won't get bothered." Silence fell between them as David simply sat thinking for a long time, then slowly, dragging out his words from his thoughts- just to run them past the Other and see if they were correct assumptions, he spoke again. "I think... I believe you now, about the possession thing I mean. I've never been able to do this before. This is... inside me, somewhere, right?" he glanced at the Other just in time to see him nod. "So you really are another version of me. Which means that... Lina has another version, and Sylphiel, and Rezo, and Eris." Another nod and David took a breath, "So. Both the motorcycle and the sword happened... And where I got killed by accident, you..." his eyes slid towards the Other who was fiddling with the tear in his robes, "You were murdered."

These words made the Other curl up slightly, "no... I deserved what I got," he replied softly. "I destroyed Sairaag and Flagoon. I resurrected a demonbeast into myself and tried to kill Lina, and Gourry, and Zelgadis, and Amelia...and Sylphiel. I tried to kill her too."

Taking a breath, long and deep, David let it out just as slowly, refusing to get angry. "I know what you're trying to do," he stated. "You're trying to piss me off and distract me from something." The Other looked guilty. "I use that trick all the time, and it only works when people don't know it or play along. I won't." Shifting, David turned to sit in front of the Other. "Listen," he stated, leaning forward to place his hands on the... 'floor' in front of his crossed legs. "What you did before doesn't matter here, so long as you don't do it again. You said you'd learned better- you'd learned what death was and what it meant, and I'm not going to condemn you for making a mistake, even if it cost a lot of lives on your world. They're still alive here, and that's what matters to us on this world."

The Other stared at him in shocked silence and took a breath to speak, but David ran him over, "But nothing. I'm not telling you to forget your past, I'm telling you to take it and move on. That's what I've had to learn to do, because... where you've gone through maybe a year or two of abuse, I lived with Eris for eighteen years. Maybe I didn't have her actually controlling my thoughts, but she came close to programming me to jump at her every breath. The bitch is a mastermind at psychology and it took a long time to get the strength to ignore her manipulation or find ways around it."

Lifting a hand, David reached over and caught the Other's chin and lifted it, forcing their eyes to meet. "Nor am I saying you're weak. It took me a damn long time to realize what she was doing to me and break free... and Cephied, there have been many times where I've wanted to just shoot her in the head till there was nothing left. You... had the guts to actually do it." David gave a slight smile, "I just ran away from her, as far as I could get."

Now, at least, the Other made no attempt to interrupt him, and just sat there, silently listening. David gave a slight smile, "So, maybe neither one of us made the right choice about how to deal with that bitch, but I know one thing. You're still here, and you can still make choices. Lina told you that what she sees in the future is a 'great big beautiful flower', ... I think what she meant was that she sees something wonderful that she wants to," he paused, tipping his head to the side, eyes falling half lidded as he thought, "she wants to nurture and make grow, and call her own. Something she's helped make become what it is. Maybe it's a woman's mothering instinct, but she's right. You... and I, we're dwelling on the past too much.

"Now, you're going to answer my question. What is your name?"

The Other went pale, then lowered his eyes, "I...you...knew I didn't have one... didn't you?" he whispered, but didn't get as far as lowering his head as David pulled his chin up again. "I don't know... I don't have a name. Eris never named me. She called me Rezo, that's all I was to her... or Damn Copy, or Garbage. That's what I was to her."

David smiled when the Other lifted his eyes to look at his face again, this time without flinching. "Alright then, I'll start with what you are to me. To me, you are a friend, and a brother." The Other's eyes widened with shock, then his expression changed to muted joy, "As for your name, well, as my brother, you'd have the last name Graywords. Now..." he sat back, finally letting go of the Other's chin to scratch his own instead, eyes staring up towards the 'sky' or 'ceiling' or whatever the expanse of dry-blood-brown-and-green was up there. The Other sat forward slightly, uncurling from his pose, one that had reminded David so much of himself after one of Eris's abusive spats. The ache in his own heart eased at that as well, and he smiled a bit more genuinely at the Other. "Okay, middle name. Mine is Aleron. I've always liked Alcander though, so you can have that one." The copy blushed slightly, but remained attentive. "First name... hmm."

Pausing, David looked his other self over. He looked to be... physically older, but the expression he wore was quite a bit younger. "Rasmus. Rasmus Alcander Graywords." David watched as the Other mouthed the name, then smiled, head tipping to the side as he did.

"I like it," Rasmus replied.

David gave a nod, "Alright, Ras," he stated and settled into a more comfortable pose, leaning back on his arms, his legs crossed Indian style. "So let's put what we know of the situation together and see how the land lays."

Rasmus took a breath and let it out, "Alright," he agreed and settled onto his knees, tucking his feet beneath him, hands in his lap. His eyes followed David's glance around, and he gave a soft laugh, "Okay, I'll start with this place. You're right. This place is inside you. This is the center of your physical being, where I got tied to when you pulled me in. This is where we draw magic from too, or the place we draw on to control outside energies. The colors here are our auras."

Glancing upwards again, David frowned slightly, "It looks... like dried blood," he stated. "The colors mean something, right?"

Embarrassed, Rasmus looked aside and gave a nod, "Yes, that color would be my fault. It's the reflection of what I did to Sairaag in my world. The dead brown is yours and your experiences in this world, and the green is the original color we had- healer shade, and healthy."

Softly, David laughed, "I guess we're both a couple of wounded birds then," he sat forward, offering his hand, "But if we stick together, we'll be alright." If anything, David suspected that was his catch phrase.

A moment of confusion passed before Rasmus lifted his own hand and clasped David's. "Right," he agreed with a shy smile.

"Okay, so give me a better version of how exactly you got here?" David asked, bringing them back to the subject.

Grimacing, Rasmus nodded and set his hand back into his lap. "I was killed by Lina the same moment you were, though... it's odd, because Sylphiel isn't the same age as she was in my world and..." he shook his head, stopping a moment to retrace his thoughts, "Flagoon is the key, I think. I'd have to study it a bit more, but I think the tree has roots that go through time and space, like the staff that holds up the worlds. I died under the tree, so I might have traveled along one of its roots and met you by accident. So you grabbed me, I grabbed you, and the shock of our meeting restarted your heart." He shifted a bit and glanced around, "The funny thing is... the way our souls fit together, it was almost as if we were two parts of a larger whole."

"Puzzle pieces," David translated. "Making a bigger picture," he pursed his lips, "Weird. But your world and mine seem to be reflections of each other."

Rasmus snorted, "Very strange and distorted reflections," he replied, "This place is just _covered_ with people, and I've never seen buildings like this. Fields of grass and farms surrounded Sairaag in my world, and the city wasn't as packed, or as tall. And we didn't have all of these- machines I think you call them. Though, on the other hand, there were some fairly ancient creations that worked like your machines. No one knows who built them but Rezo thought they were built by the dragons, although why should the dragons want to build stuff like that?" he shook his head.

"Wait, dragons? What? No... never mind, save that for later." David chuckled softly and gave a slight smile.

Clearing his throat, Rasmus went on, "In short, this is the same world, but not. Say, your Rezo can't open his eyes, can he?"

Frowning, David gave a nod, "He somehow managed to become a scientist even though he couldn't see. It was almost as if he was aware of things on a different level... Maybe like when we close our eyes, those colored lights."

"People's auras," Rasmus supplied and lifted a hand to push his hair back from his face, "Probably. Rezo was very powerful magically on my world, and I've got the same amount of power, as well as his memories of how to use it. You've got the power, but not the memories. Meaning, together, our power is doubled."

Tipping his chin up slightly, David smiled and raised an eyebrow, "So, you could teach me how to use those energies?" Rasmus nodded. "Awesome. I'll teach you about my world in exchange." This time, Rasmus grinned cheerfully.

A breath, and Rasmus shifted his shoulders, "Sounds fair. I'd be glad to, and maybe we can teach Sylphiel while we're at it. She's got a lot of potential, it just needs training and then she can do what we did with that burnt woman. That would make her happy, I think."

"Being able to help people even more than she already does?" David flicked his own hair out of his eyes, "It likely would," he agreed. "You realize, she's the mayor's daughter as well as a member of one of the old noble families," he pointed out with a sigh, "Her father would throw a fit over her dating ...us."

Rasmus snorted, "Eruk is aware of politics but his daughter's happiness comes first. He loves her too much to deny her anything she really wants. Thankfully she doesn't have the personality type to be spoiled by it, which is why he indulges her. She's got some silly daydreams about love and what it's supposed to be, which we've partially fulfilled." He rubbed his forehead slightly, "all we'd have to do now is destroy a demon with a magic sword and we'd have her."

David laughed softly, "Demons and swords, yeah, like that'll ever happen. Which reminds me, who's this 'Gourry' guy?"

Giving a soft hmm before speaking, Rasmus replied, "He's a brainless swordsman with a magic sword- in my world, not sure what he is here, but he's tall, blonde, blue eyed- a perfect prince to the ladies, but only because he's too stupid to take advantage of his good looks. He only remembers Sylphiel's name because she's a good cook and he's ruled by his stomach. He and Lina are a good match; he's hard to damage permanently and she's violent, especially at the dinner table."

Throwing back his head, David burst into a laugh, "and that's what ran a motorcycle into me? Wow."

"At least she didn't have a grudge against you," Rasmus pointed out, "It could have been worse. She certainly wouldn't have brought _me_ flowers and apologized."

Returning his gaze to Rasmus, David sat forward once more and patted his other-self's shoulder, "Hey, she doesn't have a problem with you here. Like I said earlier, take it and move on. Sure we can't see the future, but walking backwards is stupid."

It was Rasmus's turn to snigger, "Zelgadis does that enough for everyone in the world," he replied.

Giving brief thought to the comment, David nodded, "Yeah, he does."

"You'd better break from your trance," Rasmus stated, "We can still talk, just direct your thoughts towards me rather than speaking them out loud and people won't think we're so weird."

David nodded and got to his feet, then hesitated. "Uh... how -_do-_ I get out of here?"

Rasmus tipped his head back, looking up at David with a slight amused smile, "Reach for the light," he replied enigmatically.

Looking around, David finally spotted a hazy place in the distance that seemed a bit brighter than the rest. Glancing down at Rasmus, he reached down and fluffed the other's hair, to Ras's surprise. "Teasing me, are you?" giving a soft laugh, he started off, closing his eyes and reaching like he'd done before to get there- and opened his eyes to find himself staring out the window at Flagoon.

"_Good work, for your first time going into trance,_" Rasmus commented and David could feel him settled into the backseat, looking through David's eyes passively. _"Looks like it's about time for lunch, too."_

Chewing on the inside of his cheek, David replied, _"Hopefully Sylphiel will come back soon."_

"_I'm sure she will,"_ Rasmus agreed soothingly.

On cue, the door opened and a woman stepped in. However, she wasn't Sylphiel. She was a middle-aged woman with graying hair, clad in the pants and shirt version of Sylphiel's outfit, with a long white coat over it. Dr. Neal, her nametag said. "My nurse tells me that you're ready to get out of here," she said without preamble, picking up his chart and looking over the latest entries. "You certainly look better." She paced closer and pulled out her stethoscope. Plugging it into her ears, she placed the other end on his chest. He breathed deeply for her and sat forward when she finished with the front of his chest. "Breathing is good. Let's see those wounds then."

David blushed when she pulled his paper gown down and exposed his chest. Her cool fingers tracing the pale pink scars crossing his chest like a spider web. "Amazing," she murmured, "You're completely healed..." she stepped back and picked up his chart from the end of the bed and thumbed through it again. "Therapy says you're ahead of their program." The doctor shook her head slightly. "Simply amazing. Full recovery from broken bones and major heart surgery in four weeks." She made some notes on his chart, then turned back to look at him. "Mr. Graywords, I have to admit that I don't know why you're still here."

Giving a grin as he pulled his gown back up, David replied, "So I get to go? I'll have to make a call and get someone to bring some clothes over for me."

"Indeed," the doctor replied, she had a square face with her hair tied back tightly at the nape of her neck. Stepping over to his side, she removed the IV and replaced the tape with an actual bandage, speaking as she worked, "Just head over to the nurse's station and Ms. Raada will see that you get to use the line. Your papers will be down at the front desk in an hour."

With that, the doctor left the room and David stretched. "Finally!" he breathed and slid down on the bed to put his feet on the floor, climbing out of the bed and shaking the wrinkles out of his paper gown before heading out to the hall and striding down to the nurse's station where Sylphiel sat, doing some paperwork. "Hey chika," David said and folded his arms on the top of the front counter, leaning on them. "Dr. Neal said I was to get out of here within the hour. I need the phone though."

Looking up, Sylphiel blushed but smiled, "Oh, wonderful!" she answered, "I'm so glad. Oh- here," she pulled the phone over and picked it up, dialing for the outside line, then handed it over to him.

"What's the date?" he asked Sylphiel.

"July thirteenth," she answered.

Pausing, David pondered his mental list of numbers to call. Nodding to himself, David finally settled on Paul's, "_He should be just getting back into town."_ The phone rang three times, then the answering machine picked up. "Hi, this is Paul Garris's residence, I'm not home ri-" There was a muffled clatter and a thump, then a voice started speaking over the top of the recording.

"Hello? Ah, damn, wait a second." A bang and click as the recording was switched off. "Hello?"

David grinned a bit to himself, "Hey Paul, can I ask you a favor?"

"Oh God, David! I just got home an hour ago, I was about to head over and see you- I just heard what happened. God, are you alright?" Paul asked frantically and David closed his eyes, imagining Paul pacing back and forth, tethered by the phone cord to the table near the couch in his small apartment.

"Yeah," David replied, "I understand. Actually, you got my extra key still? Could you drop by my place and tell the landlord that I'll be there by the end of the day to pay the rent, then get me some clothes and come pick me up? Room three-seventy, they're kicking me out."

Paul fell silent a second, "They- they're _what?_" he asked, shocked, "You've been released? But- gyha, okay, I'll be there in an hour. Glad to hear you're alright though."

"See ya." David replied, "thanks."

Without another word, Paul hung up the phone and David put his end down. "That was some luck."

Sylphiel tipped her head to the side curiously. "What was?"

Grinning, David leaned against the nurse's station, "My friend, who's got the only other copy of my apartment key, got back from his business trip an hour ago. So he'll be here in another hour. So, when are you off next?"

Blushing, Sylphiel glanced around, then leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice. "Tuesday next week, I've got the day off." She paused and pulled out a sticky note, scribbled out a phone number and slipped it across the counter to him. Taking the note, he looked at it and memorized the number- in case he lost the paper. Dr. Neal stepped out of another room down the hall and headed towards them as David palmed the paper with a smile. Sylphiel, still blushing gave a polite nod as she took the papers the doctor handed to her. The older woman's sharp dark eyes glanced piercingly between Sylphiel and David, then she turned, heading out of the section.

Setting the papers down, Sylphiel covered her face. David laughed softly, "Hey, I'm sure that if she had a problem with it, she'd have said something. But I'm not a patient any more, or nearly, so what can she say?"

Lifting her head, Sylphiel looked up at him with her green eyes wide, "I ... guess you're right."

Giving a sigh as he stared down at her papers, David shook his head, "I'll let you get to work then and wait for my clothes." He turned and dropped onto the couch to lounge for a while.

The hall was silent except for the occasional shuffle of Sylphiel's papers at the nurse's station, and her answering the phone once. David leaned his head back against the couch and sighed softly, settling into a light doze in which he watched the spirits of the not-quite-so-departed wander around aimlessly.

"_Someone should really do something about them..."_ he thought at Rasmus.

His other self stirred slightly and took a closer look, _"The balance of life and death here is too delicate. I'd send half the people in this hall to their graves if I did a mass sending- there's too many people hanging close to the edge of death- and tracking every one of these bloody spirits down would be too much bother."_

David let his eyes fall half closed again, _"I suppose,"_ he replied.

"_Don't worry so much about them. They'll get over their deaths eventually and move on. Someone's coming up the elevator."_

"Huh?" David murmured, and opened his eyes as the elevator door opened with a huff and ding. The man who stepped out of it wore a knee length black raincoat with the buckles and buttons polished to bright silver, a splattering of raindrops still clinging to the shoulders. His midnight hair was slicked back from his face by a recent shower, with a few strands getting loose to poke out at his hairline and fall in front of his gray eyes. He carried a shopping bag full of clothes in one hand, an umbrella in the other, and had a worried look on his face.

David sat forward and pulled himself to his feet, "Paul! Good to see you!"

Paul stopped his aimless staring and turned to look at David, blinking several times, and finally came closer, "God, what the hell! You don't look like you got hit by a car."

David shrugged, "Well, I did, more or less- I'll show you the scars later. Ah- real clothes." He reached out and snatched the bag from Paul's limp fingers, then hustled off down the hall to his room to change. He left the paper gown on the unmade bed and returned, running his fingers through his hair as he walked back to the lounge. "That's much better. Less drafty," he breathed. "Thanks for coming, Paul."

The dark haired man folded his arms and scowled. "And I thought you'd _died_ or something and all you've got to show for it is a band aid on the back of your hand."

Looking down at his hand, David laughed, "That's from the IV. Here," he pulled his shirt up to reveal the multitude of scars, "See these, that's where they had to pull some redhead's motorcycle out of my chest. All she got was a crack in the head and a bruise or two. I did die, for a whole minute, you can ask Sylphiel here."

Both men looked towards her and she blushed from the sudden attention. "Y-yes," she agreed, "He did. We've never seen anyone recover as fast as he did."

Paul gave a shake of his head, "Alright, well he always did bounce back quick. I parked in the twenty minutes only spot, so lets get a move on before I get a ticket." He turned and headed back towards the elevator as David turned to look at Sylphiel again.

"Here," she said, holding out another paper bag holding his wallet- blood spattered- his keys, the necklace he'd been wearing that day, and even the change he'd had in his pockets. Beneath that were his blood stained shoes, sealed in a plastic bag.

"I'm sorry about your clothes," she said, "the EMT's had to cut them off of you, and there wasn't much left."

Taking the bag from her, he leaned across the desk and kissed her lightly.

"Not a problem," David said with a smile. "See ya Tuesday, kitten."

She blushed, but smiled back, and he turned, sauntering to join Paul in the elevator.

Slowly, Paul shook his head, "Damn, man. You picked up a hot nurse? What about Samantha?"

Flipping a hand, David snorted, "Samantha's been cheating on me for months now. Probably longer than that."

Paul frowned even more deeply, a line appearing between his black brows, his square-jawed face handsome even with that expression. "And you were moaning to me just last month that you'd –_always-_ love her."

David gave a shrug, "Honestly, it was an infatuation. She treated me like shit, which I was used to, and that was the only reason why I really liked her, other than the sex. Sylphiel's a much better choice." He stared up at the numbers on the elevator, watching them go down, and finally, the door opened on the first floor.

"...Sylphiel... Raada? David! That's the mayor's daughter! Don't you have to be like, some sort of fancy-pants rich boy to date her?" Paul gaped and followed David as he made his way to the front desk.

Smiling, David leaned on the counter, "Hiya, I need to check out. David Graywords- yeah, that one. Sign here?" he picked up the pen given to him by the silently brooding middle aged man seated behind the desk and took the papers he shoved at him. Signing on the lines, David handed the papers back and turned, heading towards the door.

"Considering what the boss told me this morning, I may just be a fancy-pants rich boy in a few years." Grinning, David preened at Paul as his friend hurried to catch up and walk beside him during a break in the rain. "Boss came in and told me I had Netts's office whenever I got out. Not to forget what I'm owed naturally- if Grandpa Rezo would ever kick the bucket, I get half his stuff."

Putting his hands to his head, Paul groaned, "God. If your ego gets this big every time you get hit by a car..."

David laughed, "Don't worry, I'm going to curse the boss soon enough for the promotion. Those lazy bums over in the programming department are a bunch of morons and I'll probably get ulcers from dealing with them all the time. Also, I've got my bills to catch up on, so even with the raise, I'm going to be stuck with no money."

Lowering his hands, Paul pulled out his car keys and sighed as he pushed the button to unlock the sleek Lexus, then climbed in. David followed suit, feeling Rasmus's amazement at the procedure, and grinned to himself. He pulled his seatbelt on and rested back in the seat as Paul replied. "And still, you find the money to take the mayor's daughter out on a date."

"Oh, the idea I've got doesn't require much cash, and she'd like it all the better. See, Sylphiel's a natural girl, likes flowers and trees and stuff, so I was going to take her out to have a picnic under Flagoon."

Shaking his head, Paul started up the car and backed out of the parking space. From out here, only the front section of the hospital could be seen, the building was tall and wide, stretching in several wings in several directions, with a parking garage to one side. David's fingers curled involuntarily around the grab bar on the car door and he could not get Rasmus to let go, so he let his other self do as he wished as the car rolled out of the parking lot. Paul gunned it, getting into traffic. "Woah, David? You alright?" Paul asked as they got to a stoplight and he glanced over when David hadn't said anything for a long time.

Swallowing, he gave a smile, "Yeah," he replied, "Feeling a little dizzy, that's all. I'm alright, really."

Paul didn't look convinced, but turned back to driving, since the light had turned green. "I got a voicemail from Gary, who heard it on the news. You really made me shit my pants, man, what made you think you could take on a car and win anyway?"

Giving a snort of a laugh, David shook his head, "It was a motorcycle." He actually hadn't lied about feeling dizzy; the motion of the car was wrecking his sense of balance. He'd thought he'd been okay, but then, he'd been in a building that wasn't moving independent of him. "Got home late from work, decided I wanted some dinner and everything in the fridge was fuzzy, so I headed out to the Sun. It wasn't my fault. I had the green; Lina just sped around the corner, doing a right on red without even looking, I jumped back, into the path of a car, dodged that, only then I was back into Lina's path. She hadn't even noticed me until just before she hit me."

"Lina- sounds like a real cute girl, other than her tendency to mow people down," Paul commented, rubbing his chin. "Or is she a fat biker chick in her forties?"

David had to laugh at that. "No, little runt of a girl with barely enough tits to wear a training bra, and a real bad temper. Not your type at all, man. Sorry. Besides, I think she's got someone already, though I don't think she'd mind dating a lawyer, if you shared your cash with her."

Paul snorted, "No thanks," he replied, "Had enough of that kind of girl with Shayla."

"Yeah, Lina's a redhead too," David added.

Cringing, Paul shook his head, "No thanks then. I've had my fill of redheads."

"Yeah, didn't you date Auska before Shayla? And before that was-"

Waving a hand, Paul raised his voice, "I know! I should have learned before now! I'm going for blondes from now on."

Laughing, David laid his head back against the headrest of Paul's expensive car. It was a shame that he seemed to hardly have the time to drive it and it spent most of its time at the airport garage. "With your luck, you'll run into some real freaky ones and you'll have to rescind your vow against brunets."

Again, Paul cringed, "You're unusually sharp today," he pointed out. "You sure you're feeling alright? You've gone pale. I'm going to pull over."

David didn't get the chance to object, for the car turned into a fast food restaurant parking lot and stopped in a space. Prying his fingers from the 'oh god' bar on the door, David ran them through his hair and closed his eyes. _"Is that just you getting sick or what?"_ he asked Rasmus.

"_No, it's both of us,"_ he replied, sounding a bit ill. _"There's something disturbing the Astral plane and we're feeling it. I can't find out anything sitting in one of these contraptions. Just tell him to take us home."_

Pressing his palms to his eyes, David replied, "I'd be better at home, Paul; just get me home."

Reluctantly, Paul pulled out of the parking space and returned to the road. Outside, the buildings went by in a blur and David had lost track of where in the world they were, but at this point, he didn't really care. Now that he knew it wasn't just motion sickness that was making him feel so shitty, it had started getting worse. Closing his eyes again, he asked, _"You have _any_ clue what's going on?"_

Rasmus sounded vaguely distracted, and David could feel the currents of energy around him shifting, sending the hair on Paul's arms standing on end. _"It's not close, but... it's nearby. Whatever it is."_

Paul rubbed one of his arms and shifted uncomfortably. _"Open the window, that'll help ease the charge in here,"_ Rasmus directed and David obeyed, opening the window to the sound of traffic and the bustle of the city. _"Still nothing. David, do you want him to know about me? If he's a close friend, he might... see some things, and this isn't natural and should be investigated now."_

"Hey, Paul." David said softly. "There's... a really good explanation of why I'm completely healed. And you're going to think I'm crazy at first, but... I'll show you when we get to my place, if you've got the time."

Sparing a moment from his driving, Paul glanced over to his passenger, "Alright," he replied, taking the serious tone in David's voice just as seriously. Nothing further was said as David closed his eyes once more and relaxed back in his seat, the air crawling despite the breeze. It wasn't uncomfortable exactly, but strange, and probably driving Paul insane. He itched his arm again.

Eventually, the car stopped and Paul turned it off, then reached over to touch David's shoulder- and snatched his hand back quickly as a spark jumped to sting him. "Dear god- David!"

Opening his eyes again, David rolled his head to look at Paul, "Ehn..." he mumbled as he came out of the light trance he'd fallen into. "Sorry..." he reached down and fumbled the window closed, then opened the car door and staggered out, leaning heavily on it after he'd gotten out.

Hurrying to get out, Paul struggled with his seatbelt and finally won, then moved around to the other side of the car and caught David as his knees gave out. Somehow he still managed to grab the paper bag with David's things in it. Dragging David's arm over his shoulders, Paul kicked the car door closed and helped to steady his friend up the stairs to the front door of the apartment building. Shuffling in his pocket, he pulled out the key to unlock the lobby door and stepped in, dragging David along.

The lobby was small, with a staircase curling up to the right of the front door. On the left was the elevator, and on the wall under the first landing straight across from the front door was the door that led into the landlord's office, which in turn led to his set of rooms. At the sound of the door, the landlord's wife peeked out, then her eyes widened. "David!" she squawked, "Shouldn't you be in the hospital still?" she asked, getting a mother-hen look as she bustled closer to get a better look at him.

Blinking awake a bit more, David shook his head, "No, they kicked me out. I'm okay, just tired. I need to go to my room, okay? Okay..." he mumbled, fading out again as Paul hauled him over to the elevator.

"Sorry Mrs. Baker," Paul said to the woman as he dragged David into the lift and pressed the button for David's floor. "Gods, David, you were okay a second ago. You sure you shouldn't be in the hospital still?"

"Gimme a...bit..." David replied, now sounding as if he were in deep concentration. The air started crawling again and the light vibration around David himself began.

Paul cringed, "What the hell?"

David's lips twitched downwards, a line appearing between his brows as he leaned against Paul with most of his weight. Then opened his eyes.

"Damn, it got away." Shaking his head, David pushed off and stood on his own. "Paul, that's part of what I've got to show you. I wasn't sick just then, I was... in a trance, concentrating on trying to find something that just got away- whatever it was." He sighed. "I hope it was nothing..."

"Unlikely," David continued, as if answering himself. "Your world doesn't have magic users, so anything moving on that plane is likely here to make trouble."

Silence fell and Paul slipped a step away. "Dude... don't do that." The paper bag dropped to the floor from limp fingers.

Blinking, David lifted his head and winced, "oops, forgot," he rubbed his forehead. "I'll explain in my room." He fell silent then, frowning slightly. The elevator stopped and the door opened, Paul snatched up the paper bag again. David stepped out, pulling out his own set of keys to open the door. He entered and closing it behind Paul, he flipped on a lamp and went to the window, opening the shutters. "Good thing I don't have any pets," he muttered, looking at a dead houseplant, then turned to face Paul. "Okay, short version: when I died, I picked up a ghostly hitchhiker. He comes from another world, that's like ours, but uses energies naturally present in the world- stuff we'd call magic. He's... another version of me, which is possibly why he stuck to me when I came back." He didn't even pause, even as Paul's expression went from shocked to worried, "Yes, it sounds insane, but watch this."

Lifting his hands, David placed them palm-to-palm, then cupped them, and pulled his hands apart to reveal a simple lighting spell. "Now, tell me how I possibly could have done that?"

Paul remained silent, staring at the glowing orb of light. He blinked, then squinted at David's face. "..." he closed his mouth.

"I'd show you some other spells, but they're mostly destructive and I don't feel like cutting myself to show you healing, which is what I did to get out of the hospital so fast. So that's my story. My ghost-buddy is, as I said, another version of me and... talks to me in my head, though he can take over my body when I let him. His name is Rasmus, so... from now on, you're talking to two of us instead of one. Sorry to creep you out like that, Paul, but as Ras pointed out, since we're such close friends, you were likely to overhear or see me do some strange things and if you didn't know first off..." he shrugged.

Paul abruptly sat down on the floor. "Oh god, David," he finally said, "You're nuts, and so am I!"

Blinking, David shook his head, "You're not insane, I am real. David, you sure you don't want me to zap him?"

"Er, no, Ras, that's okay."

David shook his head and stepped over to Paul and knelt beside him. "Here," he took Paul's limp, unresisting hand and placed the lighting spell into it. "Pick it apart, or whatever will convince you that it's really there."

At first, Paul dropped the sphere of light, then reached down and carefully picked it up again, rolling it between his hands and staring intently at it. "How... _does_ this work?" he asked finally.

Turning and taking a seat on the rumpled couch David used as a bed, as well as somewhere to sit while he played video games, he stretched his legs out in front of himself and kicked his shoes off. Rasmus took over from there, shifted into a more comfortable position and spoke, "You noticed the strange sensation in the air earlier," he stated, "That was me, tapping into the ambient energies in the air, trying to trace whatever was moving on a level of this world that most people can't see." He paused a second to gather his thoughts. "To make that spell," he continued, pointing at the glowing globe Paul held, "I created a small pocket of void, using my own energies and filled it with energy from the air, then gave it a spin to set the energy bouncing off itself at high speed, creating light."

Paul looked up, frowning slightly and squinting from staring at the bright object in his hands for too long, "That...sounds almost like science."

Rasmus gave a soft hnf, "Indeed," he agreed, "At least from what I can see in David's memories. He, unfortunately, doesn't know much about science, but if in this world Rezo is a scientist, then yes, likely magic and science correspond from my world to this one."

Shaking his head, Paul lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, "This is confusing. You really mean... there's two of you in that body? How the hell am I supposed to know whom I'm talking to?"

Glancing aside briefly, as if he were having a conference within himself, Rasmus sighed, "Our vocabularies are different," he pointed out, and suddenly changed, expression softening, "Once you get to know him, I'm sure you'll be able to tell the difference, Paul. For now, though, I'm starving. I think I'm gonna call for pizza and make them deliver it."

"But it's just within walking-" Paul started, then stopped, "Oh yeah, your luck, you'd get run over again."

David snickered and leaned over, reaching for the phone on the table beside the couch. He dialed out the number from memory. "Kinda...sad that I know that number by heart," he said, eyeing the receiver of the phone as it rang.

Paul snorted, "Not really. You're a programmer, it's expected."

"Netts' office. Cephied, Paul! Maybe I should get run over more often if I get promoted for it," David said, remembering his promotion.

"Why do you keep swearing by your company?"

David paused at that, but didn't get the chance to answer, for the pizza place had answered their phone, "Yeah, large ham and pepperoni on thick crust- David Graywords. Um-hmm. Yep. Fifteen seventy-five? Right. Alright. Bye." He hung up and rolled onto his side on the couch. "In Rasmus's world, that was their god. There are many similarities between this world and that one, but they're not quite the same and I end up sounding like I'm crazy most of the time," David sighed. "Or that I got things messed up in my mind. I know people I've never met- or rather, Rasmus knows them and-"

The phone rang.

Sighing, David reached over and picked it up, leaving Paul to contemplate the light spell again, rolling it from one hand to the other, then tossing it up and catching it. Rasmus laughed softly, and David took over again, "Hello?"

"Hey. So you really were released."

It took a moment for David to place the voice, then sat up, "Zelgadis, you were worried? Oh, I'm so very touched," he said a mite sarcastically.

"Shut up, dickhead. I only called cause Rezo's decided to have a family reunion."

David's brows raised, "You sound upset. I thought you liked Gramps."

Silence fell on the other end, then Zelgadis muttered, "I just don't like that woman."

"Who? My mother?" David teased, looking towards Paul, who'd stopped playing with the spell to look at David with a grin.

Zelgadis hissed, then growled, "Yes, the bitch." He fell silent again, "I shouldn't have said that."

Tipping his head to the side, David flopped over on the couch again, grinning, "Oh? And why not?"

"You're not upset?"

Laughing, David said, "Why should I care if you call my mother a bitch?" he said for Paul's benefit, "I agree. She's an obsessed dominatrix whore with a tendency towards bondage and black leather. Call her what you want, I've said worse." Paul burst out cackling, and in his mind, Rasmus was sniggering as well. "So when's this little get-together? And can I bring someone to keep me sane?"

It took a good few moments for Zelgadis to gather his wits back together, but replied, "It's on the thirtieth, and I'm bringing someone."

Covering the phone, David looked towards Paul, "You free the thirtieth?"

Paul sat forward and shuffled in his pocket, pulling out his PDA and scrolled through it, and shook his head, "Sorry man, not this time. As fun as this sounds." He actually did sound apologetic, but Paul had never met Eris or Rezo. He'd briefly been introduced to Zelgadis, but that was the extent of it. Their family was rather small, with most of the members missing or dead.

Removing his hand, David replied, "Alright, you in town or is this long-distance?"

"I'm in town," Zelgadis admitted.

"Oh, got a concert?"

"_Zelgadis is a... Rockstar?"_ oddly enough, this made Rasmus start cackling.

David cleared his throat, trying not to be distracted as Zelgadis replied, "Yeah," he admitted, "Supposed to be a charity promo for some new building they're putting up. I don't know, and I don't really care. My agent said we had to do it, and I'm getting paid."

"Understandable," David replied, smiling a bit at that. Zelgadis tended towards a rather melancholy look on life. He was the originator of Goth Rock-n-roll, mixing mindless noise with actual talent, and as a result, he was wildly successful, even if he didn't really care whether he was or not. Stardom had not gone to his head though; he thought it more of a burden. He wanted to make music, and all these _fans_ kept showing up and making noise.

Rasmus laughed all the harder.

"When's your concert?" David asked, twitching slightly in an effort to keep from laughing as well, when Rasmus finally calmed down enough to let him in on the joke.

Zelgadis sighed, "Next Tuesday."

"Yo, can I have a couple tickets?" David asked, looking towards Paul.

"So you can scalp them?" Zelgadis muttered, "Fine. Not like it matters who shows up. How many do you want?"

Covering the phone again, David repeated for Paul, "Next Tuesday, Zel's got a concert, said he'd give me some tickets. Want one?"

Pursing his lips, Paul thought on that, "I heard of that one, it's in the evening, so I can make it. Gimme two?"

"Just four," David replied to Zelgadis.

Laughing softly, Zelgadis replied, "You sure don't think very big. I'll express them to you."

Shrugging, even if Zel couldn't see that, David snorted, "I just got promoted, so I don't need the cash."

"Promoted? Oh, you're still working for that software company, aren't you? Hm. Congratulations, though, if you got promoted just because you got ran over by a car, I think that's a bit far to go for a raise."

David laughed, "Motorcycle, and no, I got promoted because the boss figured out that I was the only one doing any work around the place and he decided to give me more work to do. I'm head of the division now, so I get the joy of riding those lazy bastards all day long just to get a few lines of code written."

Both men looked up towards the door as the buzzer sounded. "Ah, pizza's here," David said, "Thanks for the tickets Zel. Are you driving, or should I bring my car?"

"I think you should," Zelgadis replied dourly, "the _fans_ won't believe it's me if I'm riding with a retard in that piece of junk. How in the world is that thing still running anyway?"

Huffing, David replied haughtily, "Love and care, Zel, it's an antique!"

"It sure is," Zelgadis muttered, "I'll talk to you after the concert. Bring your friends, make it a spectacle."

David snorted, "Alright, see ya."

"Bye." The other end disconnected and David hung up the phone. He looked up to find that Paul had disappeared. The door opened and Paul reappeared, stepping in with the pizza.

"I paid for it," Paul explained. "It's no problem since you just gave me a great way to pick up just about any chick I want. So, you're taking Sylphiel?"

Grinning, David got to his feet and found up a pair of clean plates, "Of course, how convenient that it's on her day off. And it's raising money for some good cause or another."

Paul set the box on the coffee table and opened it, plopping a piece onto his plate, "The new children's hospital on the south side, actually," Paul supplied, "The concert is being held over at the Flagoon open air concert hall. Weather should be good too."

David claimed a couple pieces of pizza for himself and sat back on the couch once more while Paul remained sitting on the somewhat gritty carpet. "I really need to clean this place up," he sighed, "Too bad Rasmus doesn't have any spells that can do it for me. Oh- he's got an awesome time reverse spell!" Getting up and setting his pizza down on the coffee table, David shuffled around, and pulled out a dirty plate from the sink. "Check this out," holding the plate up he deliberately dropped it. The plate made a satisfying mess across the kitchen linoleum and Paul winced but looked on in curiosity.

Holding his hands together, he murmured softly and dropped a ball of light on the shattered pieces. They flew back together, and the plate, slime and all, sat unscathed on the floor. "And watch this!" David grinned and held his hands over the plate. "Levitation!" The plate rose up from the floor and glided over to put itself into the sink. "Isn't that awesome?"

"_Parlor tricks."_ Rasmus muttered sarcastically, _"I'll be the life of the party everywhere I go."_

"If... I hadn't seen you do it myself, I'd think it was some cheesy movie special effects," Paul said mildly, though his pale gray eyes were wide.

Returning to the couch, David wiped his hands off on his pants and picked up his pizza again, taking a large bite of it. "Oh god, Paul, the stuff they fed me at the hospital was terrible!" he complained as he licked sauce off his fingers, "Sylphiel said it was a protein mix or something purely nutritious, and anyone in that wing was too wonked out to really mind what it tasted like."

Paul laughed, "And the only reason why you put up with it was cause she was feeding it to you?" David winked. "Understandable," the lawyer agreed with a grin and chomp of his own pizza, then said around the mouthful, "I guess a match between you and her isn't so bad." He paused long enough to chew and swallow. "You've got some pretty famous family members. You're sort of the black sheep of the family, what with not being known around the world."

David snorted and swallowed and got up again to get something to drink, shook the plastic bottle of coke in the fridge, then got water instead and brought back two glasses. "I think the soda's flat," he explained and sat, "Yeah, actually, I made an effort to not be noticeable. Zel does have a point about fans and media. They're a bother that I don't want to deal with. He brought it on himself, you know, what with signing with that recording company. But then again, if he hadn't he'd have had to get a real job, and I just don't see him doing the nine-to-five bit." Again, Rasmus started giggling.

"Cephied! How appropriate that is! He's a _Rock_star!" Rasmus sniggered and paused to clear his throat, "Here," he took a drink of water, "I'll show you what Zel looks like in my world." Setting the glass and plate down, he made a few gestures in the air, a light flickering up in the room, then dying as an image was created in the air over the coffee table. "In my world, Rezo did a few experiments on him and made him into _that_. A Chimera: part brow demon, human, and rock. Practically indestructible, but now he's quite pissy and has a lot more to be depressed about than this world's version of Zelgadis."

Paul tipped his head to the side, "...is ...that wire?" he asked, pointing at the illusion's hair.

Rasmus sniggered, "Yep. I think my world's Zelgadis would pound this one's pretty face in, just for spite."

"He does look rather pissed."

"Permanently," Rasmus agreed with David.

Taking another large bite of his pizza, working swiftly to finish his first piece so he could stuff the second down, David mumbled around his mouthful, "So how'd the case go?"

Paul actually took the time to swallow before answering, "Great, actually," he slurped some water, "If ya want, I'll go buy you some beers to restock your fridge," was the offer and David shook his head. The lawyer continued, "I really bailed those animal rights activists out this time. Ha. I really pulled the heartstrings on that jury!"

Giving a snigger, David finished off his first slice and started his second. Silence fell between them. One which Rasmus filled, _"This stuff's pretty good... what're we eating?"_

David choked, swallowed and laughed, "It's called Pizza, Ras." He said aloud for Paul's benefit.

"Ah... okay."

Slowly, Paul shook his head, using the back of one hand to wipe across his hair, pushing his bangs back. "That ...sounds really odd when you do that, David."

Rasmus looked back at him, "It's David's fault. He grabbed me first."

David shrugged nonchalantly, "If I could, I'd split like an ameba and give him a body, but..." he gestured vaguely at himself, "Can't really do that, can I? So what if it is my fault. You complaining?"

Pouting his lips a little, Rasmus replied, "No... please don't throw me out." This send Paul into a fit of giggles, shaking his head and trying not to squirt the mouthful of water he'd just taken out his nose. Rasmus stared at him haughtily, "And you think this is simply hilarious, don't you?"

Immediately, David shook his head, "Ugh, Rasmus, don't ever do that again! You sounded just like Rezo!"

In reply, Rasmus closed his eyes and smiled slightly. This time, Paul was the one who paled, "God. You really do look like him."

Rasmus opened his eyes and replied, "Because we ARE him, physically at least."

Silence fell then, Paul stared at David, "You mean... a... clone? But that's only..."

Selecting a new piece of pizza, David settled back on the couch, "Yeah, I know, but boundaries don't mean much to Rezo. I'm not perfect either, Ras says some of my genetics are messed up, might cause problems later, but he says they're easily fixed. But yeah, Rezo's been sitting on the medical breakthrough of the century for twenty-eight years now." David leaned forward and snagged his glass to take a long swig of it.

"Probably didn't want to admit he'd done it already and get all the morality flak. So- at least you're not REALLY related to that bitch. ...sorry."

Rasmus slipped in before David could say anything and stated haughtily, "I agree," but he kept the last of his comment for David only, _"And she's terrible in bed to boot."_ David pulled a face.

"_I'll never look at her the same way, Rasmus. Seriously."_

A shrill beeping came from Paul's pocket. Snatching up one of the dirty shirts that lay on the floor nearby, Paul wiped his hands and pulled out a cell phone to answer it. David settled back in the couch as Paul argued with some person on the pone. Sighing, the dark haired man snapped the phone shut. "Sorry, David... Rasmus," he added after a blink, "I've gotta run."

Kicking off his shoes, David put his feet on the coffee table and wiggled his big toe where it stuck out of a hole in his sock. "It's alright, I need to pick up around here and get a shower. See you next Tuesday?"

Getting to his feet, Paul nodded, "Yep."

Leaning forward, David put his feet on the floor again and set his glass down, and wiped his hands on his jeans as he stood, walking with Paul to the door, "thanks for coming to pick me up,"

Paul shook his head, "No problem, really, I was just glad to see you're alright. Nice meeting you, Rasmus. You two stay out of trouble, okay?"

Rasmus smiled slightly, "Of course," he replied.

"See ya," David added.

Giving a nod and clasp of hands, Paul headed out and David shut the door behind him, locking it, then turning to look at his disaster-area apartment, eyes skimming over the debris that had collected in the corners and spread towards the center of the room. "You really need a woman," Rasmus stated, "Seriously. At least Eris cleaned up after me."

David shook his head and lifted a hand to rub his forehead, having acquired a sudden slight headache at the thought of cleaning the place up. "Least I could do is empty the fridge," he decided and headed towards the kitchen alcove.


	7. Different Paths

Just because she wouldn't get a day off till next Tuesday didn't mean David couldn't call her. He sprawled on his stomach on the couch. It was Friday, about eight-o'clock, and David dearly hoped she would be home by now. The phone rang again. A man answered, "Raada Residence, how may I be of service?"

David was a little taken aback by that, but cleared his throat and replied, "Hi, is Miss. Sylphiel Raada there?"

"May I ask who is calling?" The voice was ...very nasal and sophisticated. Probably the butler.

Sitting up slightly, David scratched his bare stomach, having removed his clothes down to the boxers upon getting home. "David Graywords," he answered.

There was a slow sniff on the other end of the line, "Yes," the man said, "I was informed that Miss Raada would receive your calls. Just a moment."

Before David could say anything, the phone went on hold, another set of soft ringing, and Sylphiel answered, "Hello?"

"Yo, Kitten!"

He could hear her smile, "David! I thought you'd forgotten me."

Laughing softly, he lounged back on his couch and glanced around the room. It was still messy, but at least he'd cleaned out the fridge. "I had to get bills straightened out," he admitted, "Took a bit longer than I thought it would. Sorry, Syl, I'll call more often if you like?"

She laughed, "Only if you want to, I won't complain. Other than bills, how have you been?"

Stretching, David turned to stare up at the ceiling, "I figured out a lot of stuff, about my powers and how I got them."

"...David...I- I wasn't going to tell you about this but... I saw something... strange. You mentioned Flagoon a lot before, and me being upset you destroyed it, so I ...took an hour off and went to the park," she sounded nervous, as if she'd done something wrong, or that he wouldn't believe her.

David quickly reassured her, "Hey, hon, my news is pretty strange too, I won't think anything less of you. Go on."

A sigh whispered across the line and Sylphiel lowered her voice, "I went to the center, where that lake is, around Flagoon's main trunk... and as I knelt down at the water, it flashed, and... instead of reflecting Flagoon, the image in the water was of clear sky and... me. I was sitting on the other side, but I wasn't dressed the same, and my reflection wasn't moving in sync with me. I offered my hand to her when she started crying- she looked so sad, David... our palms touched, then that redhead... that ran you over showed up and they talked, but I couldn't hear what they were saying, but then the lake flashed and the image was gone again."

"What were they wearing?" Rasmus asked.

On the other end, Sylphiel paused for a long second, "I was wearing a dark purple shirt with gold edging that turned into a pair of shorts at the bottom and some lighter purple leggings. The redheaded woman was wearing a dark pink shirt with white edges on the hems and a yellow sash across her breasts."

"And matching legging," Rasmus finished. "With gray boots. Your other self had a large gem set in silver at her throat, with a ribbon attached to it, didn't she?"

Silence met this statement, "How did you know?" Sylphiel asked softly, awed.

"Because it ties in with what David was going to tell you. What you saw was my world, I'm another version of David, he picked up my soul when he died and brought me back with him. I'm the one who knows how to use magic, and have unlocked David's powers as well. Just... call me Rasmus- you can tell it's me talking when his left eye is yellow."

David took over again, "Eh... Ras is also why I kept saying weird things, knowing people I shouldn't and knowing more about people than I should have... It's cause he met them in his world."

They got no answer for a long time, and David fretted that he'd just freaked her out, "Sylphiel- I... is there sometime when I can talk to you after work? In person? I think this is a see-to-believe issue..."

"Yes," she said faintly, "I- it's just...so strange, it's frightening. Tomorrow, at seven thirty?"

David nodded to himself, "Where do I meet you?"

There was a thump on the other end, "Uh- oh darn... Uhm, do you know the coffee shop Latette? Out on Ganbaer Street and Sullivan?"

"Yeah. Alright, seven thirty then. You mind if I'm still wearing work clothes?"

She managed a soft laugh, "As long as you don't mind mine," she replied.

"Not at all. You look real cute in that skirt," Rasmus informed her.

Sylphiel laughed with embarrassment, "Terrible flirt!" she accused him, and Rasmus preened silently as David shook his head. "Okay, I'll see you then."

"Hey," David said before she could hang up.

"hmm?"

"Sweet dreams," he wished her, and hoped they'd be of him. Together, they hung up, and David sighed, staring up at the ceiling once again. "She's sexy even on the phone!"

* * *

She was already waiting for him by the time he fought his way through traffic. Sylphiel stood as he came in hands holding her short uniform jacket and a smile on her lips. Striding across the clean, but small coffee shop, David embraced her, giving a smile of his own in return. Pulling her chair back out, he handed her down into the seat and took a seat of his own at the small round table.

"David... you sure we should be talking here?" she whispered, leaning forward.

Giving another smile, David clasped her hand, "Relax," he lifted her hands and kissed her fingers lightly, "Tell me about your day?"

Her lips pressed together, but she couldn't remain upset at him for long and sighed, clapping his hand between hers once, twice. "My day was alright, no new patients today, Kyle asked me out," she added with a sigh, "I think he already knew about... us."

Rasmus shook his head, "He's rather uncharacteristically persistent this time."

Sylphiel stared at his eyes. "Oh my..."

Giving a nod Rasmus smiled faintly at her and squeezed her hand, leaning closer, he whispered into her ear, "Hello, it's me Rasmus." Sitting back, he continued, "Don't worry about Kyle, he's got a chronic crush problem. It's something about the girls he can't have that gets him. I believe... Cindy Muller is interested in him, but hey, I'm no matchmaker." He shrugged slightly. "Do you want something to drink before we go?"

Looking at his face for another long moment, Sylphiel finally nodded. "Where are we going?"

"For a walk," he returned, "You've the time, right?" the nurse nodded. "I'll show you a neat trick too," he winked at her. Leaning closer once more, he whispered, "Ever wanted to fly?" Her eyes widened. "We'll just have to do it where no one will see. David says it'd frighten people, and I've no experience with a world where people don't know magic, so I'll take his word for it."

Licking her lips, Sylphiel laced her fingers with his, "So... how?" she whispered, "How is it possible?"

Coyly, he placed a finger across her lips and winked again. "What do you want to drink?"

Sighing and tipping her head to the side, Sylphiel's loose hair fell forward over one shoulder and she lifted a hand to brush it back as she said, "I'll take a tall mocha."

Nodding, David stood and headed over to the counter, ordering two and carried them back to Sylphiel, reclaiming his seat after setting her drink in front of her. Since they were dining in, they had been given actual cups to drink from. "You look very handsome in a suit and tie," Sylphiel remarked once he'd removed his jacket and laid it on the back of his chair.

Grinning, David looked down at himself, "Hm, no one's ever told me that before," he said, honestly. "Thanks."

"The shoes could be more comfortable though," Rasmus added a tad sourly, "but at least there's no draft like robes and those paper things in the hospital."

Sylphiel nearly sputtered her drink out her nose. Hastily finding a napkin, she managed to control herself without making a mess. "Robes?" she asked.

"I was a mage and a priest," Rasmus replied, "Don't worry about anyone overhearing us, I've used a spell to make our voices nothing but a soft murmur to anyone nearby." He flashed a smile at her quick glance around, "Besides, why would they think us so strange and want to listen in? We're just a couple of people, meeting at a café." He lifted her hand and kissed her fingertips lightly.

Blushing, Sylphiel glanced down, "I guess you're right... I just... feel nervous. Like I'm going crazy. That... when I saw that reflection under Flagoon... That was the day before you showed me your healing powers. I really... really thought you were a little disturbed when you talked about destroying Sairaag, to tell the truth. I wasn't sure what to do about it- I didn't want to tell the psychiatrists because you seemed so upset about doing it and ...something about you. I don't know. I just feel more ...alive when I'm near you."

Rasmus smiled faintly and took a sip of his drink, staring at the table for a long moment, "What you saw was my world," he told her. "The ruins... that was... the Sairaag I destroyed." He took a breath and closed his eyes briefly, "I can't say I didn't partially want to do it on my own, but the one who was controlling me wanted me to kill Lina and her friends, and she'd... pushed me too far. I was so ... angry with Eris. I wanted to catch her in the blast too. But she got away. I killed her later- of my own free will." He opened his eyes to look at her, "Sylphiel... I just want you to know that... it was me. Me, Rasmus, not David. If you still love him but can't stand me, that's alright. I'll stay in the background and won't say anything to you-" her hand covered his mouth, then she leaned forward, replacing it with her lips. He closed his eyes again, savoring the kiss.

"Rasmus," Sylphiel said softly, "You're really very sweet," she told him. "I can tell that you've had a pretty hard time of it. How did she control you?"

Looking down once more, Rasmus shuffled in his pocket briefly and pulled out a small red gem, "Blood Gem," he stated, "It has the caster's blood in it, and controls the mind of whoever it's put on. Very hard to break, unless you're more powerful than the caster who made it." He put the stone away, "I'd demonstrate, but that would be very cruel."

Sylphiel nodded agreement to that and settled into silence a moment while she thought of another question. Taking her cup into her hands, she leaned her elbows on the table and sipped, eyes not really seeing what she was staring at. "What do you think... of a warm fire, and hot coco on a cold winter's day?"

Giving a hmm, Rasmus smiled at her, "I think, it'd only be perfect if it were with you, after a day of playing in the snow."

"Have you ever played in the snow?" she asked him.

Rasmus shook his head, "But David has memories of it. It seems fun. I'm... looking forward to getting to actually live this time, instead of being someone's tool."

Tipping her chin slightly, Sylphiel turned her head to look at him, "Even if you're still stuck in someone else's body?"

He shook his head, "With David... I don't mind. It's not so bad. We think enough alike that anything I want to do, he does too. But he knows the proper rules of behavior, so he'll stop me when I want to do something I shouldn't. You know... it was me who kissed you in the hospital," he blushed slightly, "that first time. You just... looked so beautiful at that moment and then you hugged us and I couldn't help it. So if you were mad at him, it's me who's to blame."

Instead, she laughed, "You say the sweetest things," she told him, "and sound so charming when you do it. I think, even without your eye changing color, I'd still know who was talking. You pitch your voice differently than David does."

David blinked at her, "Really? Hn. He does use a slightly different vocabulary, but I didn't notice he talked different too."

"It's a little bit deeper, more mature sounding," Sylphiel touched his nose lightly, "Not that you're not mature too, but Rasmus sounds like he's never gotten to have –any- fun."

The Kopii pouted slightly, "I haven't," he admitted, "Eris was mean and never let me do anything. She thought it was undignified." He sighed and lifted his mug to sip.

Setting her own mug down, Sylphiel laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them, "Your posture is different too," she added. "Like my uncle's. Very refined." Rasmus seemed to consider this for a long moment, then smiled, apparently coming to some decision. "So tell me about yourself? Tell me what happened?"

Taking a breath, Rasmus's fingers played with the mug, and he closed his eyes briefly. "I think, this is why David and I were so confused at first... The people are all the same, but the events are completely different, but still, everyone's ended up with whom they ended up with in my world- except for us. However, I digress... In my world, Eris was Rezo's assistant, she kept his house clean and picked up after him, as well as lent him power in his experiments. He was doing ... exactly the same thing he's doing here, searching for a way to fix his eyes. The fool was blind in more ways than one, and eventually went mad, particularly nasty in the last few years of his life. He turned Zelgadis, his loving and very devoted grandson, into a Chimera."

Sylphiel leaned forward slightly, "What's a Chimera? ...other than that mythical beast with four heads of different animals..."

He looked towards her, "A Chimera is what we call anything living that has been magically transformed into a blend of something else. It can be human or animal. Zelgadis was one of the few successful human transformations, a mix of human, rock, and demon. He doesn't appear particularly normal anymore, and so, his depression issues are a lot more serious than this world's version of him."

"Alright," the nurse said, sipping her drink, her eyes on him still.

Pausing for another sip of his drink and a lick of the whipped cream on top, Rasmus collected his thoughts and continued, looking down to find the hand that had been resting on the table had just been taken by Sylphiel, her other hand free to clasp her own mug. "In any case, Rezo found a cure for his eyes, but it killed him, and what he'd summoned to cure his eyes started rampaging across the landscape. Lina Inverse, the redhead that ran David down with her ...motorcycle..." he shook his head slightly, "She destroyed the Demon Lord, Ruby Eyes Shabranigdu, which had been sealed behind Rezo's eyes."

"That sounds like a rather bad place to put something like a Demon Lord. Are they very dangerous?" Sylphiel asked, concerned.

Rasmus winced, "Ah, yes, Shabranigdu is the highest power in the hierarchy of the Mazoku. What Lina fought was only a seventh of his full power, and to kill it, she had to use a spell that could destroy the world if cast wrong. One death or the other, I guess. At least her losing control of the spell would be instant, rather than lingering as Shabranigdu would be inclined towards."

Biting her lip lightly, Sylphiel thought on that, "I suppose if that was the only way to destroy that Demon Lord... but it's a little frightening that she has the ability to destroy the world if she wanted. Would that destroy this world too, you think?"

Thinking on that briefly, Rasmus had to nod, "Probably... In any case, Lina saved the world, Rezo was dead, and Eris was pissed. At one point, Rezo had created a copy of himself... a clone as you would call it. That clone is David and I. He used us for testing a cure for his eyes, it worked, but then, it was given that it would on us. Here's where things differ between David and I."

Setting down her mug, Sylphiel interrupted again, "Shouldn't you be the same age as David then? You talk as if Rezo's death happened recently- and that redhead looked hardly older than twenty."

"On your world, you don't have the magical capability to create a copy of someone as they are at the moment of whatever sample you use. Meaning, when I was created, I was Rezo's physical age, I have his exact amount of power and potential, and all his memories. Maybe I could have functioned as Rezo... truly, but... Eris was obsessed. She used a gem on me to control me... make me into the Rezo she thought he was, which went completely against the memories I had and my own instincts of how he would react.

Again, Rasmus paused, taking a breath and some of his cooling coffee, swallowing several gulps quickly in an attempt to actually work on drinking it before it went stone cold. Licking his lips, he continued, "When I fought her compulsions, she punished me, when she realized what she was doing, she tried to kill me... She never could though. She made me create copies of myself, but they were all horribly flawed: physically, mentally. She killed most of them, but one... I saved one. He wasn't pretty to look at, but he was sane, and I did what I could for him."

Sylphiel squeezed his hand tightly, "That was very kind of you, Rasmus. How did you help him?"

"I stabilized his form, healed the wounds Eris had given him, gave him money, clothes, and sent him out the back door and told him to run... as far from Sairaag as he could get."

David frowned slightly, "Makes me wonder if Rezo made copies of me? Everyone else seems to be doubled."

Rasmus shrugged, "Undoubtedly he did. He may act it well, but he's not that sane. He might be better now, though... possibly why he called that family reunion, might want to confess what he's done to you and Zel."

Giving a nod, David stated, "If he does, I'll forgive him. It could have been a hell of a lot worse." Sylphiel smiled at that, still quietly listening. David leaned close and kissed her cheek, "thank you for listening to him," he said, "He's been through a lot, and your just accepting this is going a long way towards making him feel better about the whole thing."

Sylphiel gazed up at him, "It's alright," she said softly, "I... actually think he's quite brave, to have lived through that."

Rasmus shook his head, "I didn't..." he pointed out, "Or I wouldn't be here. But, David is infecting me with his attitude about life. I guess I've gained more out of dying than I lost, but I wouldn't want to do it again."

She laughed and patted his hand, "Go on with your story," she told him.

Closing his eyes, Rasmus continued to smile slightly, "Oh, right, well... Eris never figured it out about my clone, so I didn't tell her."

Pausing again, Rasmus toyed with his cup one-handed. Sylphiel squeezed his other hand to get his attention, "How did Eris get Lina to come to Sairaag?" she asked.

"Eris put out a reward for Lina and her friends who had helped defeat Shabranigdu," Rasmus explained slowly, "and lured her to Sairaag where they met you." He took a long slow breath, closing his eyes partially as if he were reliving that time through his retelling of the story, "Eris forced me to fight them, drive them towards Rezo's lab, where the pieces of Rezo's last project were waiting to be completed. We ended up meeting them in the streets, and Eris forced me to fight them."

He fell silent again, fingers cold in her grip, Sylphiel squeezed his hand, "Then what happened?"

"They tried to run, and she wanted me to kill them, it didn't matter what kind of damage I did to the city. She wanted them dead, and I wanted to catch her in the blast. I missed on both, but turned half the city into a hot-spring."

Rasmus fell silent here, bowing his head, "I killed your father in that blast too, Syl... Your other self... hated me for that."

Sylphiel reached over and tipped his chin up, turned his face towards her, and kissed his lips. "You haven't done that here," she told him. "Do you plan to?" he shook his head slightly, but not enough to dislodge her hand. "Good. Promise me something. Promise me that from now on, you'll never use your power to hurt someone. Ever, ever again."

His eyes softened as he gazed at her, "I promise," he said softly, "May you use Bless Blade on me if I ever break it."

"Bless Blade?"

Smiling slightly, Rasmus replied, "I'm getting to that."

In return, Sylphiel smiled, "Then get to it," she urged him.

Clearing his throat, Rasmus took up his tale again, "Eris didn't realize how intelligent I was, didn't know that she didn't need Gourry's Sword of Light to open the door to the lab, I could have done it, if she'd asked me to. I think that all the powerful weapons I know of are located on my world only," he added, "Since I've done some searches on the internet, looking for ... the people I killed, and various other things that I'd like to know the whereabouts of. This... Internet thing is amazing! It would be so convenient if there was something like that on my world for spells and stuff, so you'd only have to go to your local library to learn how to cast a healing spell or something. However, I've gotten off topic..."

Sylphiel laughed softly at his enthusiasm as Rasmus swigged more of his drink, "So we chased them into Rezo's lab, all the way to the bottom- taking the longest route there was, the stupid bitch." Rasmus sighed and soothed his temper with a sip of coffee. "And," he stopped here, staring down at the table.

"And?" Sylphiel prompted when he didn't continue for a long time. David was still sitting back from the controls, giving Rasmus the choice of whether to continue or not.

He took a breath, and let it out, closing his eyes. "And while Lina and her friends...and you... fought Eris, I completed the spell to summon the demonbeast Zanafaar and combine it with my soul. I shot her in the back... and then she called me ... she said 'He's still nothing but a copy'. That ...hurt. It hurt a lot, and though I'd gotten the gem off- I had no reason to... I wanted... to never have to hear her –ever- again. I killed her. I set her on fire and turned her to ash almost instantly."

Rasmus stared at the table, "It didn't make me feel any better," he admitted, "I felt sick. That was the first kill I'd done on my own... and then Zanafaar took over, grabbed my obsession of being better than Rezo and twisted it out of proportion. I attacked Lina and her friends... and you."

"Why?" Sylphiel asked gently when he fell silent again, "what did you want out of them?"

Taking another breath, he answered slowly, "What I wanted Lina to do was cast that spell that she'd used on Shabranigdu, because... if I could survive it when Rezo hadn't... so ... I played with her."

Sliding her chair closer, Sylphiel wrapped her arms around his, hand still holding onto Rasmus's cold clammy fingers. "How did she defeat you?"

"She couldn't touch me using any other magic but that spell so long as I had Zanafaar. But Zanafaar had a weakness. It was afraid of Flagoon- it was planted to absorb the demonbeast's miasma of fear and death, and at the moment, Zanafaar was still technically dead- about as dead as I am now..."

Finishing his drink, Rasmus pushed the cup away and clasped Sylphiel's hand in both of his, falling silent for a long moment once again, but this time, the nurse waited patiently for him to speak, having the feeling that this was the part she wasn't going to like. "Zanafaar started destroying Flagoon, it couldn't get close to the tree without starting to get drained out of me. The demonbeast's hold on me wasn't that strong as of yet. I managed to nearly kill Lina, but you swept her away into the roots of Flagoon where I couldn't go and healed her... and it was there, that you found the Bless Blade. It's the holy sword of Sairaag, I don't know the exact legend, except that it was something about the sword being linked to the land and should Sairaag ever need help, the sword would be the weapon."

Again, he stopped and closed his eyes tightly, fingers squeezing Sylphiel's hand. Sylphiel gently chafed his fingers, trying to bring some warmth back into them.

"They drove me towards Flagoon, and then, Lina shot towards me, holding the Bless Blade while her friends threw spells at me, and you cast a resurrection on the tree the moment Lina pinned me to it with the sword. Zanafaar was drained out instantly, leaving me... dying."

He kept his eyes closed, head bowed as Sylphiel absorbed this information. So, his swearing by the Bless Blade was something incredibly serious to him. She felt... touched that he would go so far for such a simple promise to her. It was a promise Sylphiel was glad she'd asked him to make, though.

Rasmus drew a slow deep breath, and spoke again, apparently not quite finished, "At least they stayed with me till the end, and... actually bothered to bury me afterwards. Then I saw David. He was upset and grabbed me, told me to stick with him and we'd both be alright. I had nothing better to do but sit on my lonesome in the Sea of Chaos and so I grabbed him back and we woke up in the hospital."

Silence fell then, Sylphiel's hand clutched between Rasmus's. Sylphiel wasn't sure... what to do, or think, except that she was glad that the same thing hadn't happened here. Her home was still standing, the city, Flagoon. It took a long moment to find her way out of the world of his words, though, and take a breath to calm her swiftly beating heart. Lifting her hand, she touched his face once again, tipped his chin towards her and watched as he opened his eyes, one blue, the other was yellow. "Rasmus," she said softly, slowly, "If you do ever do something like that again, I will take Bless Blade to you," she said firmly, pinching his jaw between her fingers, "But since you promised not to hurt anyone ever again- and swore on Bless Blade," she relaxed her grip, and leaned forward to slide her arm around his neck and kissed him deeply.

For a moment, Ras didn't respond, but it didn't take long for him to recover from his shock and return her kiss. They parted slowly, and Sylphiel settled back into her chair. "I still think you're sweet. I think that Eris woman was very stupid to do what she did. You can't replace people, no matter how hard you try. They'll never be a perfect replica." She twirled her fingers in the hair at the back of his neck, keeping his attention, keeping him from taking offense to her words, "But Rasmus, I think you're a very fine individual. No matter how you came into being or for what reason. You may not be Rezo, but you're perfect the way you are."

"That's why I love you," Rasmus stated, a look of pure happiness in his eyes. Sylphiel couldn't help but smile and kiss him again. He was so cute and charming, and David was fun-loving and confident, two in one, and an absolutely wonderful combination. He was her dream come true, a knight in shining armor to whisk her away on his white horse to the shores of love. "I promised you flight," Rasmus said after the kiss, "Are you done with that?" Sylphiel nodded and he stood, helping her up from her seat with the grace and courtesy of a true gentleman and even helped her with her coat.

Together, they left the café, heading over to David's car, where he opened the door for her, then got in on the other side. David returned then and cast her a smile. "You really are a wonderful person, Syl, truly. Both Rasmus and I would do anything for you." With that, he backed out of the parking space and turned out onto the road. It was eight by then, and traffic had died down somewhat and the sky was dark except for the city lights. David drove out to Flagoon Park, and parked at the locked front gate. "I doubt anyone'll steal it," he said and took her into his arms. "Ready?"

Sylphiel nodded and yelped as she suddenly realized that the ground had dropped out from beneath them. Rasmus shifted his grip on her, holding her securely against his chest and grinned down at her. They rose higher, and flew over the dark park, heading towards Flagoon. Up they went, higher and higher until they floated above the Holy Tree. Looking down, Sylphiel's grip on him tightened, though she knew he would never drop her, and pulled her eyes away from the dizzying sight to look towards the city.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, staring at the lights.

Nuzzling her hair lightly, Rasmus murmured, "The lights wash out the stars, I wish I could show you the stars. This time of year, they light up the sky in a river of white diamonds, reaching from east to west in an unbroken band."

Closing her eyes, Sylphiel snuggled against him, easily imagining what he described. How easily his words conjured images in her mind, as if he'd always had to deal with mere words to describe sight to someone who'd never seen it. "You're romantic too," she told Rasmus, lifting her face to kiss him.

* * *

The stadium was packed. People crowded the entrance, stood several deep in front of the concession stands, and meandered around the seating. Sylphiel was clinging to his arm, and David couldn't help but grin. "I can't believe you got tickets for this!" Paul's date shouted over the crowd noise, "They were sold out six months in advance!"

"I've got connections," Paul replied and nudged David with his elbow conspiratorially.

David winked back at him; where he'd been tired before from his long day at work, David had revived to a second wind from the prospect of getting to see Sylphiel for the first time in a week. Rasmus's recovery spell had helped a lot too, but mostly it was Sylphiel. She was wearing a little yellow sundress, prepared for the heat of the press of bodies and the humidity of the night. The air was hot and heavy at the end of summer and the sky crystal clear. If it hadn't been for the blazing stage lights, the stars would have been visible. The moon wouldn't be rising for a while yet, as it was only just getting dark. Sylphiel turned her head to look up at David with a bright smile, her beautiful eyes sparkling with excitement. "How -_did-_ you get tickets?" she asked.

Flushing slightly, David leaned down and told her, "Zel called me last week, and I asked for some tickets since the concert was on your day off."

Her face went red, "He- ... called you!"

This caught the attention of Paul's date and she looked towards David with curiosity. Scratching the back of his neck, David gave a humble laugh, "Yeah, he's my cousin. Graywords isn't a common last name, y'know."

Paul's date looked David over and snorted, "You don't look a thing like him," she stated, deciding not to believe him. She latched onto Paul's arm again to drag him towards the concessions line.

David laughed, "You want something to drink or should we go find our seats?" he asked her.

"Seats," Sylphiel replied after looking at the incredibly long concession line. She hadn't seen the seat numbers on the tickets yet, he and Paul had kept them, even through the line to get in. "The security was rather tight tonight," she added.

Lifting a hand to his mouth, David whistled sharply and waved to Paul, then made one of their hand signs. He copied it, and David nodded. "Yeah. You sure you don't want anything?"

"Uh, water?" Sylphiel blinked and watched as David added another hand sign, then dropped his arm around her shoulders and turned, guiding her towards the seats. "Zel's pretty famous," he said, and looking at the tickets briefly, he headed down to the front row, then all the way to the center. Sylphiel looked up at the stage, which was currently covered with a curtain, blocking view of the setup going on behind. "And Prince Phillionel is in town, so maybe they don't want anything happening, to make a fuss while he's here," he continued. "It'd look bad."

Sylphiel nodded slightly, then looked towards him as she realized where he'd led them, "You're... sure these are our seats?"

Grinning, David pulled out the tickets again and showed her. She sat down slowly. "Wow. Front row center. Is he –_really-_ your cousin?" she asked.

Taking a seat beside her, he stretched out, "Sure is," David replied, folding his hands behind his head, "He wanted to talk to me after the show too, said I could bring you and Paul... and that ditz he invited." Sylphiel blushed and laughed softly.

"She is a bit brainless," she admitted, "but she seems nice." They both stared up at the stage as the opening band filed on to set up. "You're full of surprises, David," she added.

He grinned again, "Of course!" he replied. "But only for you." Dropping an arm around her shoulders, he leaned around and kissed her cheek. Laughing, Sylphiel blushed and turned her face towards him to kiss his lips.

"Woah! Get a room," Paul called, making his way along the front row, carrying two beers, his date carrying two more and a bottle of water. Hurriedly, Sylphiel pulled away, her face bright pink, and clasped her hands in her lap. The water was handed to Sylphiel and Paul's date- who's name David hadn't caught but thought that it started with an M- sat beside the nurse with Paul on the other side.

Laughing, David took one of the beers and sipped it, "You're just jealous, Paul! I've got a fine young lady who actually owns a nurse outfit legitimately." He put his arm around Sylphiel's shoulders again and hugged her lightly, to let her know he was teasing Paul, not her.

"Damn straight I'm jealous," Paul agreed heartily and swigged some of his beer.

"Hey! What about me?" the blonde woman Paul had invited whined.

Smiling at her, Paul replied gently, "We're just joking."

The opening band started playing then, merely background noise that no one was really listening to. David stretched out in his chair again.

"_Do people do this often?"_ Rasmus asked quietly, _"Go to... events like this...?"_

A smile tugged at the corner of David's lips and he silently replied, _"Some do. They don't have concerts on your world?"_

"_No. We have plays that we use stages like this for, but we don't have people gathered just to listen to music, unless it's a fair."_

His fingers tightened on Sylphiel's shoulder as she took a sip of her water and looked up at him with a slight smile. Paul and his date were chatting loudly- or more, Paul's date was babbling about Zelgadis, Paul was just listening. _"I hope you enjoy this then, Ras. I don't usually have the money to go to stuff like this, and really wouldn't have been able to afford tickets this close to the concert."_

"Thanks for inviting me," Sylphiel said, "You didn't have to..."

Grinning, David replied, "I got the tickets for free, and who else was I going to invite? Really, I think Zel had some ulterior motive in giving them to me. He agreed too quickly. And giving us front and center..."

Paul's date leaned around abruptly, "I'd heard that he'd saved the entire front row from being sold until just a week ago."

"Ah! I knew it," David stated, "He was going to foist the damn things off on me whether I wanted them or not! Sneaky bastard."

The woman, whatever her name was, snorted, "I heard that he has something special planned for tonight."

Interested now, David looked towards her, "Any idea what?" but she shrugged.

"A lot of speculation on the net about someone special that he wanted to come, and considering that it's nearly his birthday- which is July twenty-first, it might be something special for that," she said, as if to impress him with her knowledge.

"Look, I saw him in diapers; I know when his birthday is and what his favorite ice cream flavor is," David interrupted before she could go on.

Huffing, the blonde flipped her hair and said, "Alright, fine, what is his favorite flavor?"

Sniggering, David replied, "Vanilla, and when he was six he used to throw temper tantrums if he didn't get a cherry on top." Her eyes grew wide.

"Wow! You're a real fan, aren't you?"

"He's sorta like my little brother, chika," David replied, "I grew up with him. We used to write songs together, I learned to play the guitar so he could have someone to practice with." Absently, he rubbed Sylphiel's shoulder. She had been quiet for some time now and he glanced down at her after taking a sip of his beer. She smiled up at him, reassuringly and leaned against his side despite the heat.

The blonde laughed at David's words, choosing to disbelieve them once more. David hardly cared, he had the feeling that Zel had indeed intended to give his cousin the entire front row. Of course, the rest of the front row seats suddenly going on sale at nearly the last moment had been enough to get some pretty high prices, most of which had gone to the fund for the hospital. If Zelgadis hadn't planned it out that way, he'd gone pretty far in the way of making himself popular with the hospital and anyone else willing to pay the price for booking him.

Abruptly, a young woman took the seat beside David in a white tank top and pink slacks. Matching pink flowers were embroidered down the edge of the slit collar of her top. Her dark hair was cut short, just past chin length, and her sapphire eyes were bright as she glanced towards David and gave a grin.

"Amelia?" he blurted before thinking.

The young woman blinked and blushed, "Hi!" she said cheerfully.

Looking forward again, David shook a mental finger at Rasmus, who merely shrugged.

"So that's why the security's tight tonight," David continued, then shook his head, shifting to offer his hand to her, "Hi, I'm David Graywords, I talked with your father this afternoon about the unmanned space lab contract."

Amelia grinned and took his hand, "Daddy's said a lot about you!" she beamed, "He was very impressed with your professionalism and he really thinks that the program has an excellent chance with you working on the project!"

Sylphiel, as well as Paul and his date leaned around to peer at David and his latest companion. "I'll do my best," he replied, "after all, being able to have a lab in space would make growing medicine a lot cheaper and also give us some more mining options."

Perking, Amelia bounced in her seat, "And thus, saving the planet from utter depletion!" she clasped her fist and pumped it. "It's so Wonderful to have someone of like mind working on such a vital part of the project!"

He heard the blonde turn towards Paul with a soft murmur, "He's talking to Princess Amelia as if she were just someone he met on the street!"

Paul laughed softly, "That's David for you, everyone's just a person in his view."

Shifting, David pulled Sylphiel around, "Sylphiel, this is Amelia," he introduced, "Sylphiel's a nurse over at Holy Flagoon," he said and traded seats with her to put the two together, watching with amusement as they immediately hit it off, talking about medicine and migrating to gardening by some convoluted path he couldn't follow.

"So, Mr. Graywords," Amelia said, abruptly bringing David back into the conversation as he finished half his beer, "Are you a fan of Zelgadis?"

Laughing, David replied easily, "He's my cousin, but this is actually my first time to one of his concerts."

"Oh, wow!" Amelia beamed at him. "That's so cool!"

Glancing up towards the stage as the opening band began packing up he spoke, "If you want, I can get you backstage to meet him," he offered at Rasmus's prodding.

Now Amelia's eyes practically turned to stars, "You- WOULD?" she gasped, "You're so Kind, Mr. Graywords!" she squealed excitedly.

Taking a moment, David glanced around and found that the seats had filled on either end of the row, as well as all the seats behind them. There were certainly a lot of scantily clad teenage females flailing and screaming back there, but not enough to outnumber the young men who liked Zelgadis's style. There was a camera crew in the back, recording the concert for the DVD, the general media hadn't been allowed in.

Finally, the curtain rose to reveal a cloud of mist, and the shrieks and brandished banners rose with it. Amidst the noise, the band started playing the intro to a song. Zelgadis leapt down to center stage from somewhere within the lighted mist and took up the lead. Amelia and the blonde jumped to their feet shrieking at the tops of their lungs, waving their hands as the Rockstar traveled across the stage, singing and playing. Sylphiel pulled David to his feet. Lifting a hand, he waved at Zel, who gave a nod. Of course, the girls all thought it was for them and screamed all the louder.

"_I like this!"_ Rasmus said, _"It's loud and noisy, but he's good."_

David laughed out loud at that and took a swig of his beer once more, feeling pleasantly buzzed. Sylphiel was bouncing along to the music too, which was doing nice things to her chest, waving her arms and grinning broadly.

"_I'm glad Zel gave us the tickets, even if he probably did have ulterior motives for it,"_ David replied to Rasmus.

The song drew to a close and Zelgadis gave a bow, letting his crowd settle down a bit before he started speaking. "Welcome," he murmured and the girls screamed, "And thanks for coming," he shifted his weight back and forth from one foot to the other, always moving, meandering across the stage restlessly. His hair was dark purple with a hint of red in it, the color David's hair was when wet, his bangs spiked out near the top, but falling into his face on the left side; the sides were cut short enough to do that freaky poof effect David hated in his hair. His ears were pierced from top edge to lobe with a multitude of mismatched hoops and spikes, but he'd refrained from poking holes in his face except for a single eyebrow ring. His clothes continued the punk look, starting with a ripped-sleeves black jacket that was zipped up partially from the bottom. No shirt underneath, showing the muscles he'd been working on for years, and his pants were tight enough to show off the shape of his legs and tucked into knee high black boots with silver buckles and steel across the toes. Around his forearms were black leather wristbands.

"And thanks for helping to fund the Holy Flagoon Children's Hospital, which is where half your ticket prices went to," Zelgadis continued casually, still moving while the rest of his band members took it easy behind him. His fingers tapped absently on the cherry-red guitar he had hanging from a strap over his shoulder. He didn't have a microphone to stand at, he wore one of the wireless ones, just as his guitar was hooked to a wireless amp. Cords just got in his way too easily and he'd always had problems with tripping over them. "This is my first time in Sairaag," he added to the excited wailings of his fans, "I've been meaning to come for some time, just hadn't had the opportunity. Wonderful city you've got here, but I think I like the people the best," he flashed one of his rare smiles, which was visible on the large screen over the stage, bouncing slightly as if the cameraman was having a difficult time tracking his movements. "So this one goes out to you!" he raised a hand and waved a victory sign as he turned around to face his band, walking a slow circle as they started up another song, which he joined once he was facing the crowd again.

The girls squealed, the guys hooted and shouted, and David grinned, drinking his beer. "Showoff," he muttered to himself, giving a shake of his head. Admittedly, David had bought Zelgadis's CD's and did listen to them often enough to know the words, and did sing along with his favorites as the concert progressed.

Four more songs and Zelgadis paused again to get a drink and meander around the stage again. "My best friend's in the audience tonight," he said after swallowing a sip of something clear. It may have been water, or not. "I was worried he wouldn't come, cause he's rather lazy," there was a few hollers from the crowd. David finished his beer and shook his head, laughing. Zelgadis continued, completely serious, as he usually was, even when telling a joke, which made them all the funnier. "He had a good excuse this time, but I'll forgive him since he made it here anyway." More howling from the audience and Zelgadis moved to the front of the stage and pointed, "Git up here."

David covered his face, feeling his it burn as the camera sought through the front row and found him. "Bastard!" David shouted up at Zel and shook a fist.

"Stupid coder," Zel replied coolly, "Get up here, before my fans mob you."

Laughing anyway, David climbed over the rail in front of him and headed up the stairs at the side of the stage as the cameras followed him. Zelgadis paced across to meet him and grabbed his arm, "This's my cousin," he introduced, "Say hello, David."

Rolling his eyes, David laughed and waved at the crowd. "I knew you had some ulterior motive, Zel, I really did."

"If you'd come to one of my concerts before this, I wouldn't have to embarrass you now," Zelgadis replied evenly. "Besides, you've got a promise to keep."

Putting his fists on his hips, David cocked his head to the side, "Promise? I don't remember promising anything like this."

Stepping back a bit, Zel wagged a finger, "You promised to play a song with me when I got famous." He turned towards the crowd, "Am I famous yet?" he asked them and the stadium erupted. "There, see?"

David covered his face with his hand again, laughing, "Alright- alright, fine!"

"Consider it a birthday present, since I know you're too poor to buy me a card," Zelgadis replied and paced back and took the guitar and wireless microphone one of his stage crew handed over. He held them out to David and raised one eyebrow in challenge.

Taking the guitar, David pouted at his cousin, "That's not true." He pulled the strap over his head and adjusted it slightly.

Zel quirked a brow and handed over the microphone, "Oh really? Money was your excuse to not come see me before this." There were shouts and squeals from the audience.

"Oh, fine, so I'm lazy," David admitted with a grin.

Giving a smirk, Zelgadis turned towards the audience once more, holding his hands out, "There, see, he admits it."

"And what song are we going to play, oh God of Rock-n-roll," David asked facetiously.

"Harder to Breathe," was Zelgadis's immediate answer. "Since I've never had it recorded before, and it was the one you helped with the most. You remember it, right?"

Looking up briefly, David ran his fingers over a quick set of chords without playing, then nodded, "Yep." Of course, it had been Rasmus who'd pulled the memory out for him; he was thoroughly enjoying this. "Hit it."

As one, they struck a chord and the audience screamed and brandished their banners and bounced as he and Zel went through the intro of the song and the band behind them took up the beat.

David started the first stanza, "How dare you say that my behavior is unacceptable, So condescending, unnecessarily critical, I have the tendency of getting very physical, So watch your step cause if I do you'll need a miracle!"

Here, Zelgadis took up, "You drain me dry and make me wonder why I'm even here, This Double Vision I was seeing is finally clear, You want to stay but you know very well I want you gone, Not fit to funkin' tread the ground that I'm walking on!"

Giving a shake of his head, David flipped his bangs from his face and paced a bit, closing his eyes and reconstructing Rezo's garage out in the country where they'd used to practice, quite loudly and to Eris's annoyance. Opening his eyes again, he held the image and firmly ignored the audience as he started moving, joining Zel in the center of the stage in time to sing the chorus with him. "When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love, You'll understand what I mean when I say, There's no way we're gonna give up, And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams, Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe,"

Zelgadis stopped singing and let David take the next line on his own as he breathed heavily as accent to the beat, "Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe." The audience went wild.

"What you are doing is screwing things up inside my head, You should know better you never listened to what I've said, Clutching your pillow and writhing in a naked sweat, Hoping somebody someday will do you like I did," David continued, and Zelgadis joined in once more for the chorus.

"When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love, (Woah!) You'll understand what I mean when I say, There's no way we're gonna give up, (Yeah, yeah, yeah!), And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams, Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe."

This time, David took the panting part as Zelgadis sang the last line, "Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe." Here they began a guitar duet, call and answer, David taking first to show off a bit of fingering, Zelgadis leering at him and easily outdoing it. Accepting the challenge, David played something more complicated, which Zelgadis expanded upon to the shrieks and wails of his audience. David squealed his guitar through another riff and Zelgadis picked up the end and they played together once more as Zel started to sing again.

"Does it kill, Does it burn, Is it painful to learn, That it's me that has all the control?"

David took up, "Does it thrill, Does it sting, When you feel what I bring, And you wish that you had me to hold!"

From there, they went into the chorus again, singing unison, as if they'd rehearsed the performance just the other night instead of nearly eight years ago, "When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love, You'll understand what I mean when I say, There's no way we're gonna give up. And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams, Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe."

Again, Zelgadis panted as David sang, "Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe."

They switched parts again, "Is there anyone out there cuz it's gettin harder and harder to breathe." With that, they hit the last chord and the crowd screamed for nearly a full five minutes.

Lifting a hand, Zel turned off his microphone, which was attached to a headband hidden in his hair, and David did the same. "You sure don't look like you got hit by a car," Zel commented, holding out his hand for their 'secret' handshake, which David returned.

"I had the greatest of care. I'll introduce you to her after the show," David replied, grinning, "They really liked that, didn't they?" he looked towards the audience.

Laughing, Zelgadis replied, "You're not as bad as you claim, Dave! I always said you should've joined me, right from the beginning."

Giving a shrug, David shoved his sweaty hair back from his face. "Can't join now either."

"You and that coding job," Zel lightly punched David's shoulder, "You owe me another song. Your call, cause that was the only one I was saving."

Another shake of his head and David grinned, "Fine, you haven't played 'See You Sandy' yet. As I recall, that was top on the charts for months."

Zelgadis rolled his eyes, "That one's so _old_!" he complained, "Alright, a little nostalgia's good for publicity." By now, the crowd had settled a little and Zelgadis turned his microphone back on. "Since you all like him so much, my cousin's graciously acquiesced to play another song with me." The audience screamed.

David laughed, his microphone still turned off, and said, "I can see why you like it up here!" just as several pairs of lacy black panties hit the edge of the stage. "Pervert," he continued with a grin.

Looking over at David, Zelgadis waggled one brow. Lifting his hand, David turned his own microphone on. "Zel said it was my choice, so I pick 'See You Sandy'." This got a lot of wails and shrills from the audience, they apparently approved of the choice. This time, David started the song, working the complicated introduction to it's fullest, Zelgadis grinning at him the whole time, then the drums picked up and the star of the show joined.

When the song ended, Zelgadis turned his microphone off again, "I do appreciate your coming, what with being just out of the hospital. You're alright, right? You look a little pale."

Turning off his own microphone, David pulled it off and shook his hair out, "Nah, I'm alright. This's been fun, Zel, really. You were right, I should have come before this. See ya after the show- oh, see those four, the three girls and the guy, I'm bringing them too." He shot Zelgadis a look, "Be polite, the girl in the white is Princess Amelia."

Zel peered down at them, "Oh, I'd heard she'd bought a ticket."

"Zelgadis, I swear, you are completely oblivious of anything outside of your books and music," David fluffed his cousin's hair and handed over the guitar to the stage hand that came to take it and the microphone. Once again, the audience took the opportunity to make lots of noise as David made his way down off the stage and climbed back over the rail to his seat. Paul handed him the extra beer, and he chugged it, despite it being more than a little warm.

Paul's date stared at him, "I... doubted you," she said meekly, "Forgive me!" she begged, as if he was somehow holy now.

Amelia laughed brightly, "You're really good!" she called, and David was now thankful for the princess being seated with him. Her bodyguards weren't going to let the screaming fans anywhere close to her, or the people she was seated next to. Zelgadis started up a new song, catching the attention of his fans once more, which distracted them from his poor cousin, who wasn't used to having people panting on him.

"_You having fun?"_ David silently asked his other self.

Rasmus immediately replied, _"More than ever in my life."_

Grinning, David shoved his hands through his hair, _"I'm glad. Fun is good!"_ Rasmus agreed completely, but didn't say anything further. Blinking, David looked down at Sylphiel, "Whad' you say?" he yelled, as she tried to tell him something.

Sylphiel pushed her own bangs back, the rest of it still mostly in the pony tail she'd arrived in. "This is really great!" she repeated and stood on her toes to give him a kiss. "Thank you so much for bringing me!"

"Are you kidding? Zel will kick my ass if I don't introduce you to him," David slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her in for another kiss, which she cheerfully gave him, sliding her arms around his neck, despite the heat of the night and the crowd. Closing his eyes, David drowned in her scent, nearly overtaken with the urge to pull her clothes off and make love to her right there. He broke the kiss and set her down again. She laughed lightly and after taking a moment more to smile at him, she turned her attention back to the concert and David did the same.

The intermission rolled around and Paul slipped off to get some more drinks. David flopped into his seat, sliding down in it and fanning himself with his hand while Paul's date, Sylphiel, and Amelia went off to the bathroom, leaving him to himself for the moment.

A moment was all he got. "What the hell are you doing here!" came a shout and David opened his eyes, peering down the row to where a familiar short redhead was making her way over. "I thought you were still in the hospital!"

Lina, too, was dressed for the event, in a green tube top that merely covered her breasts and a pair of shorts that barely covered her ass. Sitting forward, David grinned at her, "They kicked me out cause I was healthy, you know, they don't seem to like healthy people there. They take up space."

She folded her arms and shifted her weight from one small foot to the other, "Why didn't you mention that you were famous?" she asked, "I ran down a famous person!"

Laughing, David shook his head, "I'm hardly famous, Lina, my family is. I'm just a programmer."

"Lina! Where'd you go Lina?" David looked up to spot Gourry, wearing a light blue tee shirt and jean shorts, his hair braided for the event. Rasmus laughed softly in his head.

"_What's so funny?"_ David asked while Lina was distracted, waving Gourry over.

Rasmus continued laughing, but still managed to say, _"The whole gang's here. Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Zelgadis, and Sylphiel. I just find it rather funny that my old enemies... aren't, but I'm still the reason they've all met... mostly."_

Smiling slightly, David shook his head, _"I told you. They've got no problem with you here. They don't know what you did, they don't care. So just don't do it again, take it as a mistake, and move on to do better things in the future."_

Lina spun back around to face David now, "So you're really better now?" she asked, "no hard feelings about the whole thing?"

Giving a wave of his hand, David replied, "Nah, I got a promotion out of it, as well as a new girlfriend and some free tickets." Mentally, he added, _"And a new little brother,"_ and continued, "So, everything's okay. Don't worry about it, Lina."

"Gourry?" Leaning back, David spotted Sylphiel working her way down the row. She hesitated, one hand lifting to her mouth, her eyes wide and the new bottle of water she held in her other hand on the verge of falling. Upon seeing David, her lips pressed together and her fingers took a better hold on the bottle. Behind her, Amelia and... what's her face returned from wherever they'd gone, still chatting.

Amelia looked up and beamed a smile at the group. "Hiya!" she said cheerfully, "Are you friends of Mr. Graywords?"

David grinned a bit as the group shuffled and arranged themselves in the narrow space, David himself refusing to get up, as his feet hurt and he was really hot and tired. Sylphiel took a seat beside David and took his hand, defiantly looking up at Gourry who... was completely oblivious. Lina caught the look though, and eyed Gourry too. Paul returned then, and handed out his bounty of beers, which David claimed a couple of.

"You keep that up and you won't be able to drive," Sylphiel admonished.

Grinning at her, David kissed her cheek, "The concert's not over for a while yet, and we've got an audience with his Holiness Zelgadis after that. I'll be sober by then, promise." She sighed. "Besides, if I'm not, you can drive us home."

Reluctantly, she agreed, "Alright," and kissed him back.

"Gourrry..." Lina growled and grabbed his hair, "You know her?" she demanded.

Flailing his arms and tipping backwards dangerously, Gourry yelped, "Yeah- she's Ms. Sylphiel! We went to the same high school!" Lina let go of his hair. Straightening, Gourry rubbed the back of his head and peered down at Lina, "She's a really good cook," he added. "She always gave me what she made in home-ec class." Cheerfully, he smiled and David sighed.

Leaning over to Sylphiel, David whispered, "See? Brainless. He hangs out with Lina because she makes it impossible for him to forget who she is." Sylphiel lowered her eyes and David put his arm around her shoulders, "However, I'm interested in this cooking of yours." Shifting, he flicked his tongue across the edge of her ear. She started, face turning bright red.

Amelia firmly planted her fists on her hips, "Mr. Graywords! Introduce your friends," she demanded and David laughed and left off teasing Sylphiel.

"That's Gourry, obviously," he pointed, "And that's the chick who ran me over." He grinned at Lina as she huffed. He took a sip of one of his beers and added, "Her name's Lina."

Paul looked the short redhead over and nodded, "Yep, you were right, Dave."

He smirked at his friend in reply. Lina steamed, "Right about what!"

Paul and David exchanged glances and laughed, "Definitely not my type," Paul repeated then smiled at Lina, "Hi, I'm Paul Garris."

Amelia gasped, hands going to her mouth, "You're the lawyer who just defended the animal rights activists against the Moore Company!" She jabbed her hands out, clasping Paul's free hand in both of hers, "It's a Pleasure to meet you! Your closing speech was fantastic!" she gushed, "Such EMOTION! I cried when I heard it!" Lina pursed her lips, and Gourry stared around the area in confusion.

Laughing, Paul shook her hand, "Yeah, that's me. I have to say, that was one of my harder cases, but a satisfying challenge."

Folding her arms, Lina tossed her hair back with a flip of her head, "SO, I ran over a guy who's cousin to a Rockstar, first name basis with a princess, and best friends with a hotshot lawyer, anything else you haven't mentioned?"

"Uh... my grandfather's the only blind Nobel Prize winning scientist in the world?" David replied. Four out of the seven gathered gaped at him.

Paul's date was the first to comment, "You mean... Dr... Dr. Graywords?"

"Like I said, it's not a common last name."

Amelia's eyes sparkled, "Dr. Graywords is amazing! Overcoming obstacles that would turn back any other man, becoming what he was told he couldn't be and researching cures for the benefit of so many others in the world! And he doesn't use animals as test subjects! A Truly Wonderful person!"

"_If she knew who he used instead of animals, I don't think she'd say that about him,"_ Rasmus muttered sourly.

"_I agree, but we don't need to tell her that,"_ David replied.

Lina slapped a hand to her face, "Oh god, I'm in deep water..."

Shaking his head, David interrupted before she could get much further, "If I held a grudge, yes, you would be, but my insurance paid for most of the bill and I ...somehow doubt you've got enough money to pay for court costs let alone damages when you lose the case. So consider it settled. I'm fine, you're fine, and everyone's happy. Or if you're not, you haven't had enough alcohol," he held his extra beer out to her, "Here, drink up and be happy. Wait, are you driving?"

Laughing, Amelia pumped a fist, "Yes!" she agreed, "We should all be happy!"

"_You're serious about introducing her to Zelgadis?" _David asked doubtfully.

Rasmus laughed softly, _"They worked fairly well together in my world, and I think she had a crush on him from the first time she saw him."_

"_Playing matchmaker..."_ David mentally muttered.

Thankfully, further conversation was shelved as the stage lit up again, and the band began to reassemble. Lina grabbed Gourry's hair and hauled him off to their seats, to Sylphiel's obvious relief. David lounged with his arm around her shoulders still, and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"Hey," he said softly, "Relax," and rubbed her shoulder, "Please? Just because he's here doesn't mean you can't have fun."

Sylphiel dropped her eyes and took a breath, then nodded, "You're right. He only sees me as a good cook and nothing more."

"He's a fool," David added, "You're a wonderful woman and deserve to be recognized as one," he touched his finger to her nose lightly and smiled. After a moment, she smiled as well and took a swig of water from her bottle.

Amelia reclaimed her seat and fanned herself with her hand, grinning, "Wow! This has been an exciting night!"

Once again, Zelgadis made a dramatic entrance to deafening screams and squeals as his audience jumped to their feet again. David got to his feet as well and did that silly jumping dance along with everyone else in the audience.

Finally, the finale song played, with explosions of silly string and confetti included, and Zelgadis, sweaty and panting, gave a bow and waved, "Thank you all!" he called and blew a few kisses. "You guys make life worth living."

With that, he left the stage. David reached over and caught Amelia's arm as she made to get up, "Zel'll send someone to escort us to him," he told her. "So just sit tight a second." He smiled and she grinned back at him.

Not more than a moment after he said that a man showed up, his long black wavy hair tied back at the nape of his neck. "Follow me," he told them.

"_Zangulus...?"_ Rasmus murmured curiously, _"Now all we need is Vrumagun."_

"_Friends of yours?"_ David replied, amused.

Rasmus paused briefly, then admitted, _"Vrumagun was as close to a friend as I'd ever had. He... just kept dying though, and anything I'd told one of them wasn't known by the rest, so eventually I just gave up. Zangulus didn't much like me, he only liked the swords I made for him."_

Together, they climbed over the bar separating the seating from the apron of concrete in front of the stage. Various amps, speakers and lights were set up for the show there and they wound around and between them as they followed Zangulus up onto the stage and into the wings. This area was also filled with speakers and rigging for the various lights, and the smoke machines and the curtain. It was a bit dark when compared to the stage and they stumbled frequently as they moved along through the maze of equipment and around behind the stage to a line of doors. Stopping at one, Zangulus knocked with the back of his knuckles.

"Come in!" came the call from within and Zangulus opened the door.

Zelgadis, now wearing loose floppy jeans and a loose black tee shirt and no shoes, was combing his hair, minus his multitude of earrings and face washed clean of makeup. The room was small and the six of them were a bit crowded, but it wasn't too bad. At least it was air conditioned in the room, which wasn't the case outside the door. Across from the door was a small sink and the vanity with bright lights all around the mirror. To the left was a couch and on the wall next to the door a clothes rack, from which hung a garment bag.

Immediately, the Rockstar grinned and stuck the comb into his hair, pacing forward to clasp David's hand, then pulled him in for an embrace, "Damn it, Dave, you stop playing in the streets. I about had a heart attack when I heard on the news!" He thumped his fist into David's arm, but lightly and the coder laughed.

"Sorry, it really wasn't something I'd planned. At least I dodged the car, it was the motorcycle that hit me," he explained and found a place to flop on the couch. Behind him, the rest of the troop entered and Zel closed the door behind them. Amelia's security took up places outside of the door.

Turning, he leaned against the door and settled his gaze upon Sylphiel, "This isn't Samantha," he observed, "I'm glad you ditched that slut."

Laughing nervously, David scratched his sweaty neck and shrugged slightly, "Actually... I haven't told her yet. But then, she hasn't called me, nor did she bother showing up at the hospital, so I consider it over. This is Sylphiel Raada."

Coming forward, Zelgadis offered his hand to her, and she shyly placed it in his, smirking slightly, he bowed over her fingers in a very courtly gesture, kissing the back of her hand and cutting his eyes at David slyly.

"The mayor's daughter, I believe?" Blushing brightly, Sylphiel nodded. "My pleasure entirely," Zelgadis straightened and released her hand. "Now, who're the rest of your friends?"

"This is Paul Garris, you've heard of him, and his friend-"

"Maggy!" she gushed, "I've got all your CD's and DVD's and T-shirts, and posters, and I'm member three hundred and fourteen of your fanclub!"

Zelgadis paused briefly and smiled at her, "Lovely," he said.

"_He's not impressed but she's too stupid to realize it,"_ Rasmus observed with amusement. David hid his smile behind his hand.

Reaching over to his vanity, Zelgadis picked up a marker, "Got anything you want signed?" he asked urbanely and she stretched out her shirt, which was an official 'Zelgadis Fanclub' baby doll tee-shirt. Obediently, he signed it and capped the marker, then turned towards Amelia.

"And you," he said smoothly, "are Princess Amelia," he gave a bow, and smiled with genuine interest. "Definitely my pleasure."

This time it was David's turn to play the peanut gallery, _"He wasn't expecting her to be quite so cute."_

"_Undoubtedly,"_ Rasmus agreed cheerfully. _"Match made."_

Amelia stood from where she'd perched on the edge of the couch and curtsied to him with a slight blush, "I wasn't expecting to be invited to meet you," she tittered a mite nervously, "It was really a surprise. Your cousin is working on a project for my father- and Daddy was here anyway, so I bought a ticket."

Zelgadis smiled slightly, "I was going to offer him the whole front row if he'd come, but he asked first, and for only four tickets." He glanced towards David, "Stupid coder could've made a fortune."

"Thanks, Zel, but scalping tickets takes work, and I am lazy, after all," David replied, Zelgadis stuck his tongue out.

Amelia laughed, "Well, I'm glad he didn't take them, since I would've missed a wonderful concert! You two are really good together!"

Maggy nodded excitedly in agreement, "You are! How come you're not playing together regularly?" she asked.

David gave a shrug and shifted over on the couch he'd taken a seat on and tugged Sylphiel's hand. She took a seat beside him and leaned against his shoulder. Zelgadis eyed David, "Cause he wanted to go to college and become an architect, which he didn't do anyway." Folding his arms, Zel leaned against the door again, "But thanks for getting up there with me."

Laughing softly, David shook his head, "You were right, I had promised and it was fun. You'll probably make a killing off the CD."

"Of course," Zelgadis replied and waved a hand dismissively. "And everyone's going to want me to play that song again, and when I don't, it'll be your fault because I refuse to play it with anyone but you."

David rolled his eyes, "Going sentimental on me?" he replied, "Or just trying to drag me kicking and screaming into the show business?" Zelgadis didn't answer, but did grin. Maggy swooned against Paul.

A knock on the door interrupted anything that would have been said and Zangulus called in, "Costume, Zel!"

Pushing off the door, Zelgadis grabbed the garment bag and opened the door, handing it out to the man waiting outside. Taking it, the man turned and headed on to the next door. Zelgadis closed the door again with a shake of his head.

Amelia filled the silence then, "Mr. Zelgadis," she said, "Do you have any plans for December fourth?"

Chewing on his cheek briefly, Zelgadis stared up at the ceiling, "Hm, no," he answered, "Tour ends in September," he answered, then eyed her.

Blushing, Amelia clasped her hands together, "Daddy's throwing a really big party for me this year," she said shyly, "And a lot of people will be there..."

"And you'd like if I came too?" Zelgadis's eyes slid to the side as he caught David's smirk and urging nod. "Uh, alright," he agreed, sounding a bit confused. "December fourth- in Seyruun?"

Amelia nodded, "Yep! At the palace- as a guest!" she agreed cheerfully, shyness forgotten immediately. "You don't have to bring anything, just yourself!"

Shrugging, Zelgadis folded his arms and gave a slight smile, "Alright," he agreed again, a bit more willingly this time.

Turning her eyes towards David, Amelia smiled brightly, "You can come too, Mr. Graywords, and you too, Ms. Sylphiel."

Blushing, Sylphiel touched her cheeks lightly, "Oh- I'll have to see if I can get a few days off," she replied, "It sounds very fun."

David laughed softly, "Ah, by December we'll be in regression testing on the project software and I'll probably need a break. Alright, I'll come." Zelgadis quirked a brow, but didn't comment.

Again, they were interrupted, "Zel!" Zangulus shouted from outside, "need to pack up."

Sighing, Zelgadis shrugged, "Sorry to cut the chat short," he said and smiled slightly. "It was nice meeting you all," he added and opened the door. Paul grinned and steered Maggy out with Amelia and Sylphiel trailing after. Reaching out, Zel caught David's arm, "Hey," he said, lowering his voice. "Can I crash at your place till the thirtieth? Hotels are great and all, but practically everyone in town knows which one I'm supposed to be staying at."

David gave a soft laugh and nodded. "Sure," he replied, "You want to ride home with me?"

Glancing aside, Zelgadis eyed his dressing room. "Yeah, I've got my suitcase here. Can you wait a bit?"

Nodding, David smiled, "Sure, lil bro, I'll hang out near where we were sitting. Meet you there."

Letting go of David's arm, Zelgadis closed the door and David moved to catch up with the others, looping his arm with Sylphiel's.

"Hey Babe."

Blushing, Sylphiel looked up at him, "So who's Samantha?"

Wincing, David took a breath and sighed softly, "She used to be my girlfriend, but she's been... in and out of my life rather unpredictably for years, like she expects me to be there when she gets tired of wandering. I'm tired of it. I want someone more stable." He squeezed her hand gently, "Besides, you're prettier than her. Especially when you smile."

This caused the nurse to blush again. "See you later, David!" Paul called as he hauled the giggling and bouncing Maggy away. David waved to him and pulled Sylphiel back towards their seats. The place had about cleared by then and David took a seat.

Hesitating briefly, Sylphiel sat beside him, "What're we waiting for?"

"Gonna give Zel a ride to my place," David replied, "He wants some time away from all the fanmail and stuff. We're going to visit grandpa at his place in a few days. He gets weird sometimes and calls us in for a family reunion, though mostly it seems as if he just wants to give us full physicals and that's all." He sighed softly and shook his head, "No, that was a bit mean," he admitted, "He does care for us in his way, I think, he just isn't quite sure how to relate to us. He's pretty old and didn't really get along with his kids."

"_I guess... I could restrain myself around him,"_ Rasmus murmured.

Smiling slightly, David muttered, "Don't worry about it Ras, you won't go through that again."

Sylphiel tipped her head to the side. "What?"

Blinking, David shook his head, "Was just talking to Ras."

She hmmed and settled back in her chair, then leaned her head against his shoulder with a slight smile on her lips. "It was really amazing, what you did to that woman. She's really improving now. She woke up yesterday. Her family was so happy. Thank you, Rasmus, it was very kind of you to heal her."

Rasmus blushed faintly and replied, "Hm, it wasn't anything special, really. I didn't have access to my full power at that point, but I've fixed my connections now."

Looking up at him, Sylphiel smiled, "But thank you anyway," she tapped his nose, "It's nice to know that you're changing your ways." Rasmus blushed deeply and fled into the back of David's mind. David laughed softly and shook his head at his Other Self.

Onstage, the lights had been turned out, and the massive amount of equipment was slowly being packed away. A figure in baggy pants and loose shirt slipped out of the wings, a suitcase in hand, and dropped down off the front of the stage to wind his way through the stacked equipment to David and Sylphiel. "Thanks for waiting," Zelgadis panted slightly, and hoisted his suitcase up over the rail to climb after it.

David got to his feet and pulled Sylphiel up. "No problem," he replied, "Let's get on out of here, the majority of the traffic should be gone by now."

Sylphiel shook her head, "David, I don't think you should drive."

Looping his arm around Sylphiel's waist, he leaned down and whispered to her, "I'm not drunk anymore, another one of Ras's handy spells. Promise, it's fine."

Pressing her lips into a line, Sylphiel stared up at him for a long moment, then he kissed her, and she sighed. "Alright, I can't take your car back to my house anyway."

Squeezing gently, David smiled and straightened. "C'mon, Zel," he said to his younger cousin and turned, heading down the row of seats, stepping over plastic cups and other trash. "That was a really great concert, ya know," he said over his shoulder, "You've gotten that Rockstar attitude down pat."

Snorting, Zelgadis looked shocked, then shook his head and replied, "What attitude? I'm just being myself."

"Exactly," David replied and grinned. They reached the end of the row and headed up the steps to the break between the 'good' seats and the 'nosebleed' section and then followed the sidewalk around to the exit gates. "So what'd you think of Amelia?"

It was a second before Zelgadis replied, "Huh- ...the princess? Uh, she's okay."

"_Translation: She's real cute and I'm too embarrassed to admit it."_ David grinned to himself. Rasmus's only comment was a grunt of agreement. The parking lot was nearly dark from inadequate lighting, and about empty as David led the way to his beat up piece of junk and unlocked the doors. He opened the front passenger side for Sylphiel first, then climbed in.

"Please god, let it start," Zelgadis muttered from the backseat, kicking enough garbage out of the way to set down his suitcase. "Please don't let it fall apart around us while we're on the road!"

Sylphiel giggled and pulled her seatbelt on. "It's a good car," she said back to Zelgadis as he clipped on his seatbelt.

David snorted, but Zel spoke before he could, "David's had this thing since high school, which was nearly ten years ago, and it was old then. -_He-_ says it's an antique, as if that's a good thing!"

Laughing, David put the car into gear and backed out of the parking space and turning, headed towards the entrance of the parking lot. "Whatever, Zel, seriously, its in even better shape than it ever was." The engine gave a cough. Silence fell in the car, and David sighed, "Don't say a word..."

They made it another good mile, with Zelgadis sniggering softly behind his hand as the car continued to sputter. Sylphiel lounged in her seat, yawning occasionally, leaning her head against the window as they wound their way out of Flagoon Park and finally got to one of the main roads. Thankfully there was no one behind them when the car finally did die. David guided it over to the side of the road with a groan.

"Alright, I can fix it," he stated, "just give me a second." He opened the door and reached under his seat, pulling out a flashlight, then pulling the lever to release the hood. Turning on the flashlight, he walked around to the front of the car, opened the hood and propped it up. Shining the light down across the smoking engine, David waved a hand to clear some of the acrid smell from his face and frowned.

"_Looks about dead..."_ he muttered to Rasmus.

"_Nothing we can't fix. As long as those two stay in the car, we can claim the flash from the spell is from the light shorting out."_

David gave a nod and leaned under the hood, making a couple bangs with the end of the flashlight, then let Rasmus take over and cast the time reverse spell. It took a bit longer to build up than the first time he'd cast it, but David held his other hand ready, and turned the light off the moment the spell popped.

"Damn it," he cursed, as one of the windows rolled down.

"What happened?" Zelgadis asked.

"My light shorted out," David lied smoothly and returned to the driver's side to toss the flashlight under his seat. He returned to the front of the car and dropped the hood. "I think I fixed it though," he said as he got back in. Closing his eyes, he prayed as he turned the key. The car coughed once, then started.

"_Yes! Good job, Ras."_

"_A regular car mechanic now, am I?"_ his other self replied with the barest hint of amusement mixed with sarcasm. Mostly, he was deadpan.

Pulling out onto the road again, the car behaved itself all the way to Sylphiel's place, which was her father's house, but thankfully, David didn't have to meet her father. She got out, and went to the driver's side to steal a kiss through the window, then dashed inside. Zelgadis climbed into the front seat without bothering to get out while they waited to see that she got there safely.

"So where'd you meet her?" Zelgadis asked, clipping his seatbelt.

Grinning, David turned around and headed out of the estate, "At the hospital. She was my nurse. We didn't do anything in the hospital, against policy for her to date patients, so I got better as fast as I could."

Leaning his seat back, Zelgadis snorted and closed his eyes, "Good incentive," he agreed. "So... you're not mad that I pulled you onstage?"

"Nah, it was fun." David flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror as they passed a cop car, then towards his speedometer. "So how've you been? I hadn't heard anything from you since the Miwan incident."

Zelgadis covered his face and shoved his hands back into his hair, "How the hell was I supposed to know she was in drag! She- he! Sure didn't act like a man. God! I'm glad that didn't get out to the media. They'd have had a field day and all the fangirls would have... ugh. I've been avoiding the romantic scene since. Amelia's really a girl, right?"

Laughing, David nodded and risked a glance over at his companion. "Yep. So, you said you were going to bring someone to the reunion. Who is it?"

"Zangulus actually, he's the guy who showed you guys up. He's pretty cool. He's got a sword collection, even knows how to use them. I've been taking lessons from him."

"Got tired of karate?" David asked as they passed into the first buildings of the city.

Zelgadis resettled in his seat and tucked his hands under his arms, "No, still doing that, but I've gotten to sixth degree and I can't really start a school of my own to teach right now, so I'm finding new things to learn."

Again, David nodded, "That's good though, I haven't had much time for anything other than work, and the occasional hospital visit," he grinned, "I haven't gotten the chance to read a book for fun in a year. God. I need a real break. I told the boss about the trip, and he said it was fine if I took a week off before I really started the Seyruun space lab project. I met with the prince this afternoon and talked with him about it."

"Is that were you met the princess?" Zelgadis rolled his head slightly, then lifted it to run his fingers through his hair.

David shook his head, "No, she just happened to have the seat next to mine at the concert, so I started talking to her. She and Sylphiel sure hit it off well."

Zelgadis fell silent.

Looking over at him as they pulled up to a red light, David frowned slightly at the brooding expression he could see on his cousin's face. "Hey," he reached over and slapped Zel's leg. "Rule!" he reminded. "No brooding in my car without explaining."

Blinking, Zelgadis rolled his head on the rest and looked at David, brows raising. "Light's green." He pointed out, then sighed, "I just... can't help but think that our family is cursed. I mean... I'm kind of... afraid to settle down with anyone. What if ... what if what happened to mom and dad happens to me?"

"What, you think that the moment you have offspring you're gonna die?" David asked.

"Same thing happened to your dad," Zelgadis pointed out sourly. "If only the curse had taken your mother with him." David's father had supposedly died in a lab explosion, but no body was ever found. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"That wasn't proven," David reminded. "He could've just taken the opportunity to move off to another country." Giving a soft laugh, David shrugged slightly and pulled into the parking garage of his apartment building, "I told you before, whatever you say about her, I've said worse. I don't care anymore, Zel. I realize what she did to me now, and find no reason to defend her from what she deserves." He pulled into a parking space and turned off the car. He pulled the keys out, but made no move to get out. "If I had to choose between her or you, I'd pick you, hands down, Zel."

Looking over at Zelgadis in the dull light of the parking garage, David gave a smile. "You've changed, Dave," Zelgadis stated.

Softly, he hummed and got out of the car. Zel followed his example as he fished his luggage out of the backseat and locked both the doors before closing them and following David as he headed towards the gate that gave access to a short sidewalk that was the alternate entrance to the building David lived in. "I think it was dying, Zel," he said finally as he unlocked the door. "I was... so scared, and mad that I was being taken before I was ready and... then the blackness." He paused and closed the door behind Zelgadis, making sure it locked, then headed into the lobby where he pressed the button for the elevator. "My place is a bit messy still, but I've been working on it. You mind sharing the couch-bed with me?"

"I don't, if you don't" Zelgadis replied, stepping into the elevator and leaning against the back wall. "I thought about killing myself... before. Plenty of times. I couldn't do it though. I was too scared."

Pressing the button for his floor, David turned to put his back against the wall as well. "It's a good thing you were, Zel, I'd be upset. We've got so little family that's really trustworthy in this world, so if you promise not to go and make that number smaller, I'll do my best not to die again. ...Easy promise, really. It's not something I want to go through again."

"What was it like?"

Taking a deep breath, David held it, his eyes going distant as he stared at the opposite wall. "At first it hurt. When she hit me. And then, I got cold. Really cold. As if I was laying in snow. The edges got dark, and then it crept in and took over. I was so ...mad, I was reaching for something, anything... and that's when... I saw myself." He stopped and shook his head.

Leaning forward, Zelgadis reached over and prodded him, "Saw yourself? Your body? You were floating over it?"

David closed his eyes, "No, that came later, when I returned but... no, I saw another version of myself. You know that theory of alternate dimensions? I think I met a version of myself that had died at the same moment. I was scared, and I grabbed him. He grabbed me, and then I was spiraling back down. Then the blackness again. I heard voices, Sylphiel's, but I don't remember what she said. She said I was sedated for a while and that she visited me. She said that people did better when they had someone come talk to them. I think she's right. When I woke up I was confused as hell." Again, he fell silent.

"I didn't hear the full story until I got here," Zelgadis looked down at the floor and scuffed his dirty sneaker into the tile. The elevator pinged and the door opened. Picking up his luggage again, the Rockstar followed his cousin out and down the hall. "I would have come if I'd known how bad it really was."

David grinned, "I know," he stated and unlocked his door, "You would've sat at my side till they kicked you out, and they would've had to fight to budge you."

"Damn straight," Zelgadis agreed, "So who's the bitch that ran you over? You going to press charges?"

Stepping in, David dropped his keys into the dish that was set on top of the TV and kicked his shoes off. Zelgadis kicked the door shut behind him as David replied, "No. I really don't care. It was an accident. My insurance paid for most of the stay and my boss was kind enough to apply my raise to my back pay, so that's taken care of, as well as the bills I missed paying. So, it's fine, and I'm a lot better off for it. Like I told her: I got a new girlfriend, a promotion, and free tickets to a cool concert. She met Paul, she knew who he was, knows you're my cousin, knows Rezo's our granddad, and knows what new hole I could have ripped her, and that's really enough, Zel. Revenge... is the most pointless of things. It only leads to more revenge, and it goes back and forth. So just let it go."

Heading over to the flashing light of the answering machine, David pressed the button and listened to the message Sylphiel had left while he'd been out earlier in the day. He smiled at that. Zelgadis said nothing, just dropped his suitcase over by the couch. Turning, the coder peered at his cousin, "Hey."

Straightening from his slouch after dropping his suitcase, Zel lifted his head and looked towards David, "It just... burns me, how close I came to losing you, and ... you say it doesn't matter."

"No," David stated, "She'll look before trying to beat a red light from now on, she's learned her lesson, I've learned mine. I should have waited a second. The part that doesn't matter is the getting revenge." Shaking his head, David strode across the room and grabbed his cousin's shoulders, turning him. "Listen, Zel," he pressed his fingers in and gently shook the younger man, "Leave her alone. I don't care about that. I just care about making the best of this second chance I've got. I think... though... if I had to die, I think it'd be worse if I had to die knowing that you were mad at me. If I had to die, knowing I was really all alone, that would be the worst thing in the world. So I'd rather just get on with living than tie up the courts and waste a lot of money in fighting a stupid case in which I'd lose just as much as I gained from winning the case."

Zelgadis blinked and looked away, "I don't want to lose you, either," he admitted. David smiled slightly and pulled him in, squishing him in a tight hug. Flailing, Zelgadis tried to free himself as David caught him around the head and noogied him. When the younger man got free, his hair was standing out wildly around his head. "Hey!"

David grinned, "Now, enough with the angst. Go get a real shower, I'll set up the bed. I've got some pizza left over, ham and pepperoni."

"I'll take it cold," Zelgadis huffed and shuffled in his suitcase to pull out some fresh clothes, then headed to the bathroom.


	8. Unexpected Enemies

Rasmus sat in his little corner of David's mind, awake while his other self lay sleeping. It was nice to be alive in some form, and David was a pretty nice guy to talk to, but... He couldn't help but feel as if he didn't belong here. Once more, even though he had his own name, anything he did or said would be assumed to be David's actions and words and so, nothing was worth doing. It was fun, getting to do things he'd never done before, getting to see things he'd never seen before, but these weren't –_his-_ eyes seeing them. These weren't –_his-_ hands holding Sylphiel, whom he had to admit that he loved, and for all the same reasons that David did. That was the only good thing about being in the same body with him, they didn't have to really share her.

But in the end, Rasmus had to admit that he didn't –_want-_ to see Rezo. He didn't want to get anywhere near Eris. Even if these were not the same as the ones from his world.

He shifted restlessly from within David and the body stirred slightly, thumping into Zelgadis, who grumbled and slapped his cousin as David rolled on him. It was shocking to see Zelgadis like this- nothing at all like the Zelgadis, Rasmus had known. The Chimera would have gutted this version of himself for being a wuss, more than likely, all the while envying him for his relationship with Rezo and his lack of rock-skin.

"_I need to figure out how to get home... I don't belong here, even though I like David... I like being with him... I'm hiding in him and it feels wrong,"_ he whispered to himself, and looked up at the wash of new-green that was steadily getting wider as the brown healed. The dried blood color hadn't abated in the slightest. _"It's not me getting better. It's him."_

That realization hurt as well. _"I'm totally useless. My teaching David magic is just a hobby for him. He's more interested in the miracles he can do with code and technology than with his own energies."_ Looking down again, Rasmus picked at the front of his robes. He didn't have to wear clothes in here, what he was wearing was just a projection of what he thought he should be wearing. He could have changed his clothes to whatever he wanted... but what was the point? Only David would ever see them and that hardly mattered. Besides, it seemed more appropriate that he think of himself wearing his own blood. _"I'm a murderer. David may not care, Sylphiel may not care- but I don't think she quite believes him about me. She just sees David as a magical creature that can bounce back from death and heal others with a touch of his hand, and if he happened to defeat a demonbeast at some point, she'd be begging to marry him."_

Rasmus hung his head and put his hands to his hair, none of which really existed, it was just a mental projection for his convenience. _"That's uncharitable. Sylphiel's deeper than that. David's a wonderful person, he hasn't murdered anyone, and he really does want to help people with the stuff he codes. He's making something of himself, independent of Rezo and has never had another's name attached to everything he's ever done. He's an individual and I'm not._" The Kopii writhed in his misery, curling in upon himself, suddenly feeling incredibly terrible and in need of Sylphiel to tell him 'I love you Rasmus'.

Again, David shifted, his body beginning to react to a humming in the air that he'd only recently become attuned to. Rasmus frowned slightly and lifted his head, then rose up to take possession of David's body. Opening his eyes, Rasmus sat up and looked down at Zelgadis- who'd curled up on his side, hugging his pillow with his thumb stuck in his mouth. Rasmus smiled at that. If David had ever wanted to blackmail Zel, this would be the best picture to use for it. Then again, the Fangirls would love it and probably put it on tee shirts or something.

Pushing the covers off, Rasmus slid his feet to the floor and looked around the room, then got up and picked his way across the floor, silently taking himself into the room that was supposed to be the bedroom but had been made into David's study, full of computers and the server he ran. Taking a seat on the floor, he closed his eyes and placed his hands on his knees, his feet tucked under him.

A deep breath, and then another, and Rasmus had fallen into a light trance. It was easier to work without David lurking over his "shoulder", or Paul pestering, so he tapped into the energies of the room, then reached out beyond, skipping like lightning from one strand of power to the next, working his way towards one of the ley-lines. He tapped into the power there, which he used to shift the net of little streamlets of power that fed into the ley-line and spread his awareness out across the landscape of Sairaag.

Slowly, he worked around the edges of the city, spiraling inwards, hunting for the source of the disturbance in the astral plain, trying to find the place that felt 'heaviest' in his Other senses. Slowly, he was finding the edges of the indentation in the webbing of natural energy in the city, and he worked even more cautiously from then on. It seemed to be somewhere in the western section of the city- near Flagoon, but how big it was, he couldn't quite figure yet.

His search was passive- it had to be, to avoid tipping off the other meddler of power that there was another sorcerer in town who could feel what was going on. But it required his full concentration.

The light came on.

Rasmus started, his hold on the power lines slipping from his grasp. In irritation, he opened his eyes and scowled back at Zelgadis, who stood in the doorway. Still casually holding his pillow, he yawned into the back of his hand and blinked sleepily. "What're you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I was trying some meditations," Rasmus lied, forcing himself to rearrange his expression. David wouldn't have been that upset at his cousin.

Blinking a few more times, Zelgadis turned off the light again and padded over to take a seat on the floor in front of him, "Hm. Can you teach me?"

Lifting a hand, Rasmus rubbed his face, feeling the stubble of beard beginning to grow, and looked up at the ceiling. "Sure," he replied as he felt the tension of movement on the Astral plain easing and finally disappearing. Whatever was there had moved on. Ras had missed his chance.

Zelgadis shifted and set his pillow aside, taking a pose like Rasmus's. Drawing a breath, Rasmus stretched his shoulders and relaxed them, placed his hands on his knees once more. "Close your eyes." He directed, falling into Rezo's 'teacher mode', which was a quietly commanding voice set in a pitch that would be just monotone enough to put his pupil into a trance. "Take slow deep breaths, as if you're trying to fall asleep, but stay awake. Concentrate on the sound of my voice, and only that. All else doesn't matter right now."

He watched Zelgadis's aura, paying attention and waiting for the moment when he reached the appropriate level of trance, then murmured, "Now open yourself- no- concentrate on my voice. Yes, now, just listen, and feel with more than your physical senses." To draw Zelgadis's attention to it, Rasmus touched off the energy in the room to set it buzzing lightly. "Now, open yourself to that feeling in the air," he murmured and this time, Zelgadis didn't start to shake the trance like he'd done before. It took a long moment, but finally, the young man's natural shields against the energies of the world slid down. "Good," Rasmus murmured, "Now wake up and try that again."

For a second, Zelgadis remained as he was, then opened his eyes, his aura picking up to spin in time with his quickening heartbeat. Taking a breath, Zel closed his eyes again and breathed, matching Rasmus's slow and even draws, his heartbeat slowing. A moment more, and he'd lowered his shields again. "Good," Rasmus murmured, "with practice, you'll get faster. Now, focus on my voice again, and fall deeper into yourself, deeper than that. Yes, there." Again, Rasmus reached out with his power and touched Zelgadis's own personal power, flicking it lightly to make it 'ping' in the young man's Other sense. "If you ever need an extra boost of energy, just reach for that place inside yourself, make a bubble of it and pull in the energies from outside yourself." Zelgadis fumbled, seeming at a loss of how to do this, and Rasmus continued, "Hold out your hands and cup them, draw some of that power from within yourself between your hands."

Once more, Rasmus reached out, and since Zelgadis's shields were down, he could work with the power the young man had exposed and was currently shaping. With more firm "hands", he hardened the sides of the pocket Zel had half created, then showed him how to expand it to suck in energy from outside himself, reaching over with his physical hands to gently pull Zelgadis's hands apart. "Good, you don't need to make it any bigger than this," he said, still using his teaching voice, "You can do a lot with a little bit, so don't ever draw more from yourself than you need to." Keeping his hands over Zelgadis's, Rasmus reached out with his own power to cover Zel's unformed spell, "This is still just raw energy, and as such, is useless. You need to twist the power, like this," he reached into Zel's spell and flicked the power into the correct shape, "This is how it should look if you want to recover some energy. It will take practice to learn how to do it right, but I suggest doing it only in private. Now, turn your hands and pop your pocket onto yourself. You can do this to other people as well, but not in public."

Letting go of Zelgadis's hands, Rasmus watched as the young man cast his recovery spell on himself. "Why not in public?" he asked, then opened his eyes at the flash of light that resulted from the triggering of his spell and looked down as the glow faded from his hands.

Rasmus opened his own eyes as well, but there wasn't much to see in the dim light cast by the running lights of David's server. "Because it makes light, and that might frighten people who aren't expecting it. It's somewhat rare for people to be able to manipulate energies like that. You've heard of Chi, right?" Zelgadis nodded, "Well, that's sort of what you were working with there."

Zelgadis's eyes widened, "Wow, my karate sensei said something about masters of the art being able to manipulate their own spiritual energies and use them as attacks, but he said the art was lost long ago. Where'd you learn it, Dave?"

"One of Rezo's old books," Rasmus lied again. "I didn't mention it before cause I couldn't quite understand it, but when I died, I finally saw the stuff it was talking about personally. So, now you can cast a Recovery spell. Maybe tomorrow night I'll show you something else." He hoisted himself to his feet, "I've got work in the morning."

Turning, he headed back into the living room and crawled back into bed. After a moment more, Zelgadis followed, but remained laying on his back, dropping in and out of trance. Rasmus sighed softly and dropped back down out of control of David's body. Zelgadis had been a quick student in Rasmus's world too, and it wouldn't be long before he didn't have to work so much to call upon his power.

If there really was something dangerous moving around in this world, then having a powerful shaman such as Zelgadis would be useful. But it would take time to train him up to the level that he had been in the other world, and this Zelgadis was starting into it rather late in life, unlike the one Rasmus had known, who'd begun training with Rezo when his affinity towards the elemental magic had first developed at age eight.

The benefit to training him now was that Zelgadis's personal powers had been left alone to develop to their full potential. There was a theory that early training stunted a mage's power, and this Zelgadis seemed to have more natural energy than the other one. Or perhaps that had been due to Rezo's meddling with Zel's composition; part of his energy had gone into maintaining his body rather than being accessible for spells. That would make sense.

Or perhaps the meddling the Rezo of this world had done on this Zelgadis's composition had altered the young man's power levels. Both were equally possible explanations, and neither of them really mattered in the long run. Rasmus settled back down into his corner of David's mind and body and tried to turn off his own mind for a bit of rest from brooding over everything.

He would have to tell David what he'd done in the morning. Rasmus winced at the thought and curled up. Hopefully David wouldn't get mad...

* * *

David yawned broadly and woke slowly at dawn, with Rasmus gently prodding him awake. It was a lot better than waking up suddenly to an alarm, which always put David into a bad mood, and Rasmus seemed to always be awake, no matter what state David was in. _"Good morning. I didn't bother your sleep last night, did I?"_ Rasmus asked.

Shifting, David pushed the blankets off and rolled out of bed, stumbling across the room to the kitchen alcove where he started making coffee. _"No, why?"_ he asked.

"_I felt that _thing_ again around midnight, so I got up to investigate it. I still couldn't find the source- I got interrupted by Zelgadis waking up. I hope I didn't alert whatever it is that I'm here when I was startled out of trance. It faded away shortly afterwards. Um... I taught Zelgadis a spell last night. Nothing big, just a recovery spell, I thought... with something that big moving around in Sairaag, having a powerful shaman like him trained up would be a good thing."_

David didn't answer at first, just measured out the coffee scoops and dropped them into the filter. _"It's alright,"_ he said finally.

Rasmus sighed, _"I told him you'd learned about energy manipulation from one of Rezo's old books. Zelgadis said something about one of his karate teachers talking about spell casting, or something enough like it that I could finagle the truth and say that you'd read the book a while ago and didn't understand it until you'd died and seen what it was talking about for yourself."_

Inadvertently, David gave a nod, _"That's fine, Ras; a pretty good explanation, actually, and one that he wouldn't question."_

"_I emphasized that he had to keep it in private, but that he could cast it on other people, in case there's an emergency..."_ Rasmus added.

A squeak from the couch-bed, and Zelgadis rolled out, onto the floor, landing in a heavy heap. Lifting his head, hair matted and sticking out in all directions, he stared at David, as if he didn't recognize him, then yawned broadly. "Coffee?" he murmured sleepily, and David laughed.

"Yes, I'm making coffee," he answered and popped the pot back together and turned it on. Turning, he headed off to the bathroom to shave while the coffee brewed. Slowly, Zelgadis untangled himself from the blankets he'd taken to the floor with him. "You know, Zel, since you'll be here all day, you think you could vacuum?" David called.

From the living room, there was a zombie-like moan and something that sounded like "sure", and another squeak of abused springs as Zelgadis fell face first back onto the bed.

Peeking out of the bathroom with his face covered in shaving cream, David eyed him. "You weren't up all night practicing, were you?"

Lifting his head again, Zelgadis looked towards his cousin with a guilty expression. Giving a laugh, David ducked back in to finish shaving. _"You know, I could just time reverse that away. Or stunt the growth,"_ Rasmus pointed out.

David ignored the comment and called to Zelgadis instead, "It's alright, you'll have to show me your progress when I get home from work."

Another squeak from the couch as Zelgadis sat up and folded his legs, pulling a pillow over to tuck against his chest and lean on, he yawned again. "Sure. I think I've gotten better at it already. You'll have to show me that book when we get to Gramps's place."

"If he's still got it," David paused in his shaving to say, then returned to it.

Setting the pillow aside, Zelgadis climbed off the bed and stepped into the kitchen to pour coffee from the still dripping pot. "You still like yours with sugar and cream?"

"Umhmm," David called, working on the trace of mustache on his upper lip.

Yawning again, Zelgadis poured some coffee into each cup, then put the pot back in to collect the rest of the brew that was still being made and sugared one of the cups. "Yours is on the counter," he called and took his own over to the bed again and sat down, sipping the hot black java, eyes closed with pleasure.

Rinsing out his razor, David washed the last of the shaving cream off and followed that with splashing cool water across the rest of his face, then dried off and stepped back out of the bathroom to collect his coffee. "Thanks," he replied as he picked up his mug and took it to the dresser. Sipping it once, he set it down while he pulled out some clean clothes to wear to work and stretched before beginning to dress.

Zelgadis lounged back against the back of the couch, legs extended in front of him on the bed while he sipped his coffee and blinked lazily. "I'll do the dishes too, since you're too lazy to do them yourself."

Looking back over his shoulder, David grinned, "Damn straight," he agreed and chugged the remainder of his coffee and turned on the TV as he passed it on his way back to the kitchen to drop his mug into the sink and make some toast for breakfast. "...sold out, and a great success, raising over a quarter of a million dollars for the Holy Flagoon Children's Hospital."

"Ha, they're still talking about it," Zelgadis snorted and sipped his coffee, preferring to savor the taste rather than do as his cousin had.

Leaning around, David peered at the TV just in time to see a video clip of himself and Zel jamming onstage as the newscaster went on, "Apparently, Zelgadis had a guest star, his own cousin, a programmer for the Cephied corp. here in town."

"Say, didn't he recently get out of the hospital, victim of a car accident?" the other morning anchor said, continuing the filler topic.

His co-anchor, a middle aged blonde with a white lock of hair at her temple nodded, "Indeed, just last week actually, and an amazing recovery it is, too. He spent five weeks there before he was released and went back to work. David Graywords is apparently head programmer of the Seyruun unmanned space lab project, just yesterday, he met with Prince Phillionel, along with the other division heads of the project to hammer out the details. The word is that the budget for the project is going to be in the billions and there's speculation that it will go over as more features are added." A video of the proposed design played on the screen as the anchors talked further about the project.

"Is that so?" the man at the desk said finally, feigning interest. "What do you think, Jack?"

The view switched over to the weatherman, "I think that no matter what the price, the space lab will be a monument to human ingenuity and drive!" Jack bounced a bit on his toes. He was a spry younger man with a smile far too large for this early in the morning and way too much energy. He said something else that David ignored until he got around to the actual weather report, "Today, skies look clear, but watch out, there's a cold front moving in from the west, pushing a lot of moisture towards the region, meaning those fall storms'll be coming early this year! Make sure your umbrellas are in good repair by Friday and be sure to wear your rubber boots, because with the humidity already in the air, as well as what's coming in, it's gonna be a reeeeeal drencher!"

"He's annoying," Zelgadis observed and held his coffee cup out towards David, who'd finished buttering his toast and was munching on it, holding it on a napkin.

"Hey, I'm not your coffee boy," David complained, but went and poured more for his cousin anyway. "I agree though, he is annoying. I want to strangle him most mornings."

Handing the cup back, David made a face at his cousin, then returned to munching his toast. Zelgadis sipped his coffee before answering, "you were standing there, and you did it anyway," he pointed out, "so what's your problem?"

Yawning, David finished off the last of his toast and tossed the napkin he'd had it on at the garbage. "None, just don't feel like going to work today."

Curiously, Zelgadis half turned, hooking his arm over the back of the couch to peer at David, "and here I thought you liked sitting on your ass all day in front of a screen pecking at a keyboard with your nose."

"That was on a whim, and that was before the promotion. God, those dorks down in the department can't even sharpen a pencil without detailed instructions and me standing over them. I could get the project done in a lot less time if I didn't have those monkeys to deal with, but I can't just fire them all cause there's stuff that I hate coding and I can foist it off on them."

Zel grinned and sat back on the couch again and sipped more of his coffee. "Well, it's six thirty now... besides if you don't go, you can do your own vacuuming."

Pulling a face, David answered, "I'm waiting for them to get to the traffic report. Should be next."

"In traffic today..." the woman said, turning to face the camera.

"See?" David grinned and shut up so he could hear. They had a few aerial pictures of various streets. Two minor accidents that would be cleared soon enough, but weren't on David's route to work, and a third major one that was on the other side of town and had a fatality. "Alright, I'm gone. See you at seven, Zel, don't open the door for strangers, okay?" He winked. "Especially not ones who say they're from the FBI, just remember- I don't know nuthin about the paperclip fund."

Laughing, Zelgadis waved, "Sure, I'll take your word for it. Drive careful."

Saluting, David headed towards the door, picked up his keys and wallet from the dish on top of the TV and headed out, locking the door behind him. It was a habit, and a useful one, and so he didn't even notice that he'd done it. Heading down the stairs to get his blood moving, David reached the ground floor fairly quickly. "David," the landlord's wife called, and David paused. "David," the woman shuffled out of the front office, "Here, I made these this morning. You're so thin, you need to eat more, and don't play in the street, okay, dear?"

Smiling, David took the Tupperware of muffins the woman held out to him and nodded, "I promise Mrs. Baker. I learned my lesson. Thanks, I'll bring this back in the evening, okay?" She smiled and waved, watching him bound out the door, car keys in hand, and turned, shuffling back into the office in her pink fuzzy slippers and bathrobe over her everyday clothes.

Reaching his car, David paused and glanced up and down the garage, then unlocked the driver's side door and popped the hood. _"I think my car could use another quick time reverse, Ras. Can ya manage it?"_

"_You are downright lazy, David. Seriously. This thing is probably older than Rezo, and you're playing Necromancer with it. Alright fine."_ Rasmus heaved a sigh through David's lips and closed his eyes, making an Astral check of the area, then dropped a slightly more powerful time-reverse spell on the engine. _"There, that should last a few days, but really. You're getting paid more, buy yourself a new car. Zelgadis is right, this thing is a pile of rust. I'm reviving the engine, but that won't stop the rest of it falling apart."_

Laughing softly, David shut the hood and climbed in, "And have to learn how to handle a new car just before a six hour drive out to Grandpa's?" he asked out loud as he buckled his seatbelt and cranked the car. It started with a cough, but that was usual, so long as it continued running afterwards. David looked back and carefully backed out of the space he'd taken, joining the herd of cars already out on the road. "Maybe after my hospital bill is paid off I'll look into getting a new car."

"_If Zelgadis doesn't beat you to it,"_ Rasmus pointed out. _"He might get tired of complaining about this old bucket after your trip and buy you a new one out of self preservation."_

David burst out laughing even harder, "You might be right," he agreed, winding his way through the multitude of one-way streets and stoplights, heading towards his office building on the west side of town.

"_Hm."_ Rasmus murmured, but said nothing further.

Cocking his head, David prodded mentally, "Hm what?"

He had to wait a moment longer before Rasmus replied, after his other self did something that involved magic and shifted David's vision partially into that of the astral plane, "Hey, don't do that while I'm driving, Ras. Or warn me first."

"_Sorry. I just noticed that this was the general area I'd tracked that astral movement to. I was just double checking."_

Giving a blink and shake of his head, David answered, "I thought you couldn't find it..."

"_I couldn't find its exact location or size,"_ Rasmus corrected, _"It was leaving a pretty deep indentation in the astral energies of this region, though."_

A frown pulled at his lips, "Should we be worried?"

Rasmus gave an indication of a shrug, _"Already doing all I can, Dave. If I had undisturbed time to track it down next time it moves, then I might be able to figure out what it is, in the meantime, I'll train Zelgadis up to demon-blasting level. At least the spiritual shamanistic spells aren't damaging to the landscape."_

"That's a relief. Wouldn't want Zel flinging around spells carelessly, thinking they were safe to play with."

"_Like Lina. No, he understood the concept of using spiritual energy as a weapon, I think he'd be careful with it. It wasn't till he started associating with Lina that he started picking up bad habits."_

Pursing his lips, David cringed, "Right. I think I'll keep him away from Lina." Flipping on his blinker, David turned at a light, then made an immediate right, pulling into the parking garage that was next to his office. Finding a parking space, he pulled in and turned off the car, got out and locked it.

At least this parking garage was attached to the building by a set of covered stairs as well as an elevator that served as emergency exits for the building in case of a fire. David took the stairs, since his new office was only one floor up from where he'd parked. Opening the door to the building, he stepped into a long narrow hall that went past the janitorial closet and various supply rooms, as well as offices for the necessary evils such as HR and Kevin Markus who was in charge of making sure the copy machines didn't jam up and that the computers were all wired and networked right. This hall had no windows on it, which made the rooms here rather like closets, but David couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for Markus. The man was just abrasive by nature and needed to be confined.

Striding down the hall, David stepped into the larger room beyond the hall, filled with a rat maze of cubicles. Unless you worked here, you wouldn't know how to navigate the place, or the personal relationships within it, but David had toiled in this room for years, from a cube somewhere near the center, and so knew the layout. Taking a breath, he started through the gauntlet.

"David! I got that grab code done!" called the first man who saw him. "Should I start working on the enactor?"

"_Duh,"_ Rasmus muttered.

David smiled, "Yes Rick, and after that give it to Mellirune," he repeated, having gone over this with them several times before. Really, his promotion had just been a recognition that he'd been running the floor for years already.

Continuing onwards, he was hailed by two more people, and repeated their instructions as well, controlling the chaos with a tight fist and whip if he had to. "Melli," he paused at her cubical, arriving just in time to hear the last two lines of a song. He brushed a tendril from a plant out of his face, one that had not only taken over Melli's cubicle but was working its way down the row towards the windows on the other side of the room. "...is there anyone out there cuz it's getting harder and harder to breathe." Wincing, David rubbed his forehead, "Damn it, now it's stuck!"

Mellirune was a cute blonde with large thick glasses. She looked more like a librarian, but was about David's equal when it came to coding abilities. She liked her cubical though and was more than glad when David got the promotion instead of her, as she was under the impression that she wouldn't make a good leader because she couldn't see over the cubical wall even when wearing four inch platform shoes. On the other hand, when she needed to be heard everyone could hear her. She spun her chair around, her large brown eyes magnified by her lenses, "Wow!" she breathed, "I didn't know you could sing, David! Or play! The concert last night was so fantastic!"

Sighing, David shook his head, "They're already playing that on the radio too?" he muttered, "Anyway, you got the first segment compiled yet?"

"Yes sir!" she saluted and giggled. Turning, she shuffled through her piles of disks, all of which were unlabeled and looked exactly the same. David didn't even pretend to know how she always knew exactly which one had the file she needed. "Wow! Hey, there any way I could talk you into getting me Zelgadis's autograph?" she asked as she turned around again, holding out a disk.

Again, David sighed, "Alright, but only because you're such a dear," he lowered his voice, "And do what I tell you the first time I tell you." he rolled his eyes and she laughed.

"Only cause I know what you're going to tell me before you tell me," Melli replied and lounged back in her swivel chair. Lifting a hand, she tapped her cute button nose and winked. "Soon as Rick and Madison get me their parts I'll have the second segment done."

David nodded, "I'll have this part back to you with mine attached by lunch." He ducked as a Nerf ball sailed over his head, followed by a sticky dart from the other direction.

"Right-o!" Melli agreed and spun around again, turning up her radio once more and opening her game of solitaire. David wasn't worried about her game playing. She'd done her work and didn't have anything to do until she got Rick and Madison's pieces of the project. So, he turned as well and wound his way through the rest of the maze, finally getting to the other side where he opened his office, opening the door and leaving it that way. He couldn't work without the noise of the cubical war as background, since he'd lived with it for so long, its absence was distracting.

Flopping into his chair, he turned on his computer and sat back, waiting for it to boot up, that damn song still running through his head. Softly, he started singing it, hoping that by doing so, he'd be able to clear it out. Mark poked his head in about mid-song, as David's computer finished booting up, "Hey-" the man said. David looked up, Rasmus recoiled, as he had every time they'd encountered Mark. Saying that he resembled a squirrel was an understatement, for it almost seemed as if that creature resembled Mark more than the other way around. "Hey," Mark repeated nervously twitching, "Hey, uh, you think that song's gonna be on a CD?"

For a long moment, David just stared at him. Mr. "Classical is the only thing I listen to" twitched again. Clearing his throat, David pulled his lips into a smile, "Probably on a recording of the concert," he replied evenly, "Zel's pretty anal about that song. It's got sentimental value to us and he's not going to play it with anyone other than me."

Mark twitched again, "Oh, oh... okay. Um, thanks." His door cleared abruptly as the squirrel-like man vacated it so fast that David missed the actual movement when he'd blinked.

"_He makes me nervous..."_ Rasmus complained.

Shaking his head, David turned back to work, _"He makes everyone nervous,"_ he soothed, the song still stuck in his head even as he popped Melli's disk in and started going over the code line by line, adjusting things when they didn't fit from one programmer's work to the next. "...harder and harder to breathe..." he murmured.

"_You're singing out loud again,"_ Rasmus pointed out, boredom dripping from his voice.

Blinking, David pulled himself out of his super-focus and glanced at the time. _"Uh, sorry,"_ he replied. _"It's lunch time, but I'm not quite finished with this."_ Rasmus sighed and settled back down again. _"Sorry my life is so boring, Ras."_

For a moment, there was no answer, but finally, Rasmus stirred again, _"this code is almost like the more formula based magic,"_ he observed, _"With all the diagrams and stuff to make sure that all possibilities are covered and will be taken care of by the pattern so the magic won't do something strange or dangerous."_

Silently, David nodded to Rasmus's words. _"Sounds about right,"_ he agreed, and when Rasmus said nothing else, he turned his attention back to what he'd been doing, moving his hand from the pad of paper he'd been drawing on absently to scroll down in his screen. Blinking, David looked over to find a picture of an angry Lina beating Gourry over the head and laughed. _"Nice, Ras..."_

Rasmus shrugged in his mind and David let him have control of that hand once again, since it wasn't distracting him from his work and Rasmus didn't need to see what he was drawing to amuse himself. Finishing at last, David lifted both hands over his head and stretched with a yawn, then looked down at the pad again to find a detailed and partially shaded picture of Sylphiel. He smiled slightly, _"Very nice,"_ he told Rasmus, who preened. _"Ready for lunch?"_ David continued, setting the pencil down, he popped Melli's disk out once he'd saved the file. Taking the drawings, David folded the picture carefully and stuck it in his pocket for showing Sylphiel later.

"_Sure,"_ Rasmus answered somewhat blandly, _"But only if it's not ...whatever that was you ate yesterday."_

Getting to his feet, David stretched again and stepped out of his office to start walking the maze again. _"What? It tasted fine, didn't it?"_

"_Yes, but it wasn't very identifiable and I think it was trying to crawl out of the wrapper when you weren't looking."_

David stifled his snigger and draped himself against the door of Melli's cubical, push aside a leafy branch that flopped into his face. "Here you go," he told her as she turned around, snatching the disk from his fingers and handing him another in return.

Beaming a smile up at him, Mellirune folded her arms, "So, whatcha doin for lunch today?"

"Hm, thinking of heading over to the sub shop," David replied.

She got to her feet, "Okay," was her cheerful reply, and she grabbed up her purse from beneath a pile of vines flowing off her desk and into the floor.

Laughing softly, David lifted his hand to brush his hair back and eyed the graphite smear down the side of his hand and fingers. "I assume that means you're coming with me?" he asked and pushed off the wall, using his other hand to brush through his hair instead.

"Yep. I don't trust the food over at that chicken joint you ate at yesterday. Never know if it clucked or mewed before getting deep fried," Melli replied and David rolled his eyes, patting his pockets to make sure he had his keys and wallet still. Both were present and he walked with her out of the maze. Most of the others had already gone off for their lunch breaks, a few had stuck around but were too engrossed in their work, or play, to notice that it was lunch time. David sighed, eyeing the game of World of War that was taking place on one man's screen.

Abruptly, the man stood and shouted "Gotcha!" triumphantly across the cubical wall. Another of the nearby programmers groaned in answer.

Melli patted his arm lightly, "Don't worry so much about it, he got his part in."

Pulling a grimace, David nodded, "I know, but running this place is a lot like herding cats."

Grinning broadly at him, the short blond laughed, "I never herd my cats," she stated, "Takes too much effort. I just lead them with treats."

"Unfortunately that doesn't work quite so well with people," David mourned. "If I start handing out goodies, they'll start expecting it and get even less done. What do you think of Dane, though?"

By this time, they'd reached the end of the maze and had gotten into the hall. Melli touched a finger to her lips and looked up at the ceiling briefly while David opened the door for her. "I think he's a mite mediocre and more than a little redundant with Jimmy and Cas."

David nodded, "I was thinking the same thing... I'll keep him on till the end of the project though, unless he gets really lazy and I need a good example for the others." He rubbed his eye with a knuckle.

"So what were you drawing?"

Laughing softly, David reached into his pocket and pulled the papers out, "My new girlfriend," he admitted, "Isn't she cute?"

"That's... the mayor's daughter," Melli observed, "I passed your office on the way to the watering hole, you didn't even look at what you were doing," she also noted, stepping into the stairwell. She got motion sick on elevators and so avoided them when it was possible.

Blushing slightly, David shrugged, following her down the stairs; he didn't mind walking. "Blind people can read by feel, my grandfather can even write."

Handing the paper back, Melli hmmed softly, "So you learned how to do that from your grandfather?" she replied, watching him as he folded the paper again and put it back in his pocket.

"Something like that," David said a bit evasively.

"You've gotten a bit weird since the accident," Melli stated bluntly. "And your left eye changes color. It's blue now, but when I walked past your office it was yellow."

David's lips twitched slightly, "I really don't know why it does that," he lied, opening the door at the bottom of the stairs for his companion yet again and following her out into the sunlight. Stepping outside was like walking into a wall of heat and David had to pause briefly to lean against the wall and breathe while he unbuttoned his cuffs. "God," he muttered, hand coming up to rub his chest, "Storm's coming in faster than the fruitcake with the weather report said it would," he explained to Melli, who was looking up at him, her expression worried. His skin crawled, and he closed his eyes.

"_That's not just ache from weather change,"_ Rasmus murmured. _"Whatever it is has come back, and it's really close. But once again, you're in public, and I can't do a damn thing with that woman standing over us."_ The pressure in the air increased and David felt as if the air itself were crushing him.

He opened his eyes to find Melli desperately trying to keep him from falling on his face, and he took a shaking breath. "Sorry," he gasped and slid down to take a seat on the ground, still clutching his heart. No one else was reacting to the energy in the immediate area, and David felt as if he were drawing a lot of unwanted attention by his reaction, but he couldn't stand, even if he wanted to.

Lifting his eyes, David licked his lips, and abruptly, Rasmus slid into the pilot seat of his body, focusing his gaze across the street. A man wearing a pinstriped suit lounged against a light post with his hands in his pockets, expensive wristwatch gleaming in the light, but that hadn't been what had caught Rasmus's attention at all. The man had dark purple hair cut straight at shoulder length, bangs in a hard even line across his brow, just above a pair of amethyst shard eyes that were in turn, focused on David.

"Mazoku..." Rasmus whispered with contempt.

Pulling his hand from his pocket, the man lifted a single finger and smiled coyly, winking. Abruptly, the pressure eased, and the man pushed off the post and strolled off down the street.

"David!" Melli shouted, and hurriedly, Rasmus retreated, leaving David to take a slow deep breath.

"I'm okay, Melli, I just got dizzy a moment there." Reaching back, he put his hand on the wall and hauled himself to his feet to cast a strained smile at his fellow programmer. "I'm alright, really." Mentally, he chased Rasmus, _"What the HELL was that!"_

Emerging from his soft mutterings, Rasmus spat a curse that was quite descriptive and one that turned David's ears pink. _"Mazoku,"_ Rasmus snarled. _"And a fucking powerful one at that. He did that on purpose. He's from my world and no, I don't know how he got here. He's been teasing me by showing up every so often and he did that on purpose!"_

"_Is he dangerous?"_ David asked, completely clueless.

If covering his ears would have helped, David would have done so, for Rasmus exploded. _"Dangerous? Are you that dumb! It's a MAZOKU! A servant of one of the Dark Lord Ruby Eye's underlings. I don't know which one, though, but only one of that class could be that powerful. TEASING me! The bloody bastard!"_

Melli was still staring up at him, unsure, her hands out and ready to catch him if he even looked like he was going to fall over again. "Maybe you should go back to the office?" she suggested, "I'll bring you something. You don't look good at all- and your eye's started changing colors again."

Shaking his head and ignoring Rasmus's continuing curses and rants, David patted Melli's shoulder lightly, "I'm alright now," he repeated and started off slowly, then paused to dust his pants. Mellirune hurried to catch up and walked beside him as he continued onwards towards the sub shop, frowning slightly. "It was just a dizzy spell, I get those from time to time when I haven't eaten in a while. They go away fairly quickly and Sylphiel said it would go away completely in time."

"And what does the Mayor's daughter know?" Melli groused.

"She's also a nurse," David pointed out, "I met her in the hospital."

This gained David a few moments of silence between himself and his co-worker. Rasmus, on the other hand, was still seething with impotent fury. _"If only I could blast him! Then I'd make him talk! No Mazoku is going to make a fool out of me!"_

"_Okay, just hold a second, Ras. How the heck was that little incident-"_

"_LITTLE!"_ Rasmus interrupted, and if he had control of their shared body, he likely would have been foaming at the mouth.

In return, David interrupted his other self before he could go on another enraged rant. _"Just hold up a second! Explain to me- CALMLY- why this is such a big thing?"_

For a second, complete silence fell in his mind, then Rasmus returned, voice steady, but that was a placid surface over the boiling maelstrom below. _"Mazoku- what you'd probably call a demon,"_ he explained, _"Don't just go walking around in a human form and advertise themselves to all mages that happen to be in the area. Not unless they've got good reason for it. That one wanted me to find him, to know exactly what he looked like, and that so long as I'm in public, there's absolutely nothing I can do about him. Mazoku are BAD business, they never have good intentions and certainly aren't helpful. IF they decide to help you, it's because they're getting something out of it that means trouble later."_

David mulled that over for a long time, _"I see. So, his being here means trouble, and you can't do anything about it while pretending to be an ineffectual civilian."_

"_Yes."_ Rasmus subsided completely then, disappearing into the back of David's mind, and though he sent a querulous thought after his other self, he didn't get an answer and was forced to look down at Mellirune, who was staring up at him with that worried look again.

Clearing the semi-disgruntled expression from his face, David smiled sheepishly at her, "Sorry, I was brooding, wasn't I?" He shook his head slightly.

"A little... I think." Mellirune replied, sounding rather unsure about the description of his expression.

Wiping a hand across his brow, David replied, "It runs in the family. Zel makes a spectacle of it, but I try not to do it in public. I'm just... irritated about ...about seeming so weak in front of you."

At this, she shook her head, sending her curled bangs flapping, "David, you haven't seen the pictures the media got of you just before the ambulance came, have you?" He stared down at her. "That redhead practically ran her bike through you, David. You shouldn't have lived through that, and the fact that you're wandering around only a few weeks afterwards..." she took a slow deep breath and let it out. "We were all worried that we'd never see you again, David. It was really hard to keep working on that project, even for me. I ...kept looking at that code and bursting into tears, and I wasn't the only one. Netts was ineffectual, but our slacking on that project wasn't his fault entirely." She looked down at her feet, shoulders slumping.

Reaching over, David touched her cheek lightly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Melli looked up into his smile, "Thanks," he said, "It's... nice to know that I would be missed if I did die."

"I didn't visit you," Mellirune said softly.

Shaking his head, David replied, "That's alright, I don't mind. I know you and blood... and honestly, I don't think I looked all that pretty, so maybe its better you hadn't come? Besides. I'd rather my friends remembered me like I was when I was healthy rather than like that." He patted her shoulder as they came to the corner. The light was red and the lunch traffic heavy as usual. Mellirune managed a smile at him, but her expression was still haunted and doubtful. "Besides," he added with a smirk, "Sylphiel wouldn't have spent so much time with me if people had been in and out all the time."

Mellirune lifted her eyes again and reached up to thwap his arm playfully. "You... you..." she tried desperately to find the right word and he grinned at her, "Flirt," she settled on finally. The light changed finally and she started forward.

David paused, giving the motorcycle that had stopped at the line a doubtful look as the rider revved the engine absently, then turned to look at him, and reached up to pull the helmet off. "Hey! Still walking, huh?" Lina called. "Where you heading?"

Sighing, David shook his head. "To get lunch, and hopefully without getting run over by you."

Laughing nervously, Lina glanced over at Mellirune, who had returned to the sidewalk. "Oh, lunch! I'll join you!" Lina said cheerfully and abruptly made a right turn, barely missing an oncoming car as she pulled into a parking space nearby. David twitched.

"Who's she?" Mellirune asked.

"The woman who parked her bike in my chest," David said absently and continued when Lina jogged up to them, her hands unzipping her black biking jacket and pulling it off to tie around her waist. "That's a new bike," he pointed out, "Or did I not cause much damage to it?"

Scratching the back of her neck, Lina laughed nervously, "Well, uh, it's new," she admitted, "I'd been wanting it for quite a while, so uh, wrecking the old one was a good excuse to get that one. Beautiful, isn't it? It's got dual exhaust and two-hundred horse power."

"All the better for mowing down pedestrians," David replied urbanely. Lina went pale, then huffed. Turning, David eyed the traffic and the light and stepped out into the street, hurrying across. Mellirune and Lina jogging to keep up behind him. He breathed a sigh of relief on the other side and rubbed his aching chest, heart pounding heavily. Shaking, he stumbled over to the wall and leaned there for a long moment, letting the rush of terror wash away.

Lina leaned over to Mellirune and whispered a bit loudly, "He alright?"

Silently, the blonde scowled at Lina, but David answered before she could speak, "I'm okay... that was... just the first time I've crossed a street since..." he didn't finish and firmly avoided looking at Lina, instead, he took a breath and pushed off the wall and straightened his shoulders, "I'll get over it," he stated, looking at Mellirune as he said so.

"So where're we going for lunch?" Lina asked, changing the subject.

David silently pointed at the sign of the shop they stood next to, and dusted himself off before heading over to the door and opening it for the two ladies. Stepping in afterwards, David followed them to the counter, hand moving to rub his chest again. It still hurt. Frowning slightly, he looked at his right hand, "Eh, I'll be back in a second," he told Melli, "need to wash my hands." His palms were sweaty too.

Turning, he headed towards the restroom as Lina glanced towards him. Stepping into the men's room, he rolled his sleeves up and washed his hands. _"I don't think it would have been so bad if Lina hadn't been there. She terrifies me too,"_ Rasmus said, sounding a lot calmer than before. _"But that reaction's only natural. It's an aversion thing, you got hurt in that situation once already and you're loathe to repeat the experience."_

Leaning down, David splashed some water on his face too and loosened his tie. _"I have to get over it,"_ he told Rasmus, a twinge of pain making him wince. _"If I can't walk across a bloody street, I won't be able to function properly in everyday life. At least for you, it's swords and not nearly everything that moves on the road."_

Eyes lifting, David watched his left eye turn yellow as Rasmus slid up and into control of David's right hand. In his palm, a ball of light flickered into being, and he touched it to his chest. _"We're not fully healed yet,"_ Rasmus pointed out. _"Your heart is still a bit weak and working that hard wasn't very good for it. Mellirune's right to worry about your health, any more surprises today could do some serious damage. How long can we stay here? Would anyone be upset if you took a little longer at lunch?"_

Reluctantly, David agreed, _"Alright. I don't think I could force myself to go back across quite yet."_ Slowly, the pain in his chest eased and Rasmus retreated again, leaving David to watch in fascination as his eyes returned to their normal color. _"That's really weird. But at least it'll give the people who know you're there a way to tell the difference between who's talking."_

Rasmus remained silent for a moment, then sighed, _"If anyone believes I'm here at all and that you're not just crazy. Seriously, considering your initial reaction to me... I'm not expecting anything spectacular."_

"_Ras, don't be like that..."_

"_I'm just a passenger for the most part, David, I'm not really alive now any more than I was in my world. It doesn't matter though, I'm getting used to it."_ Again, Rasmus retreated and David's call for him went unanswered. Sighing, David dried his hands and face and straightened his tie before stepping out of the bathroom. Mellirune and Lina had already ordered.

"David- I got your usual," Melli called from a table and he took a seat beside her and watched in morbid... disgusted... fascination as Lina gorged on one of shop's special three foot-long subs. Mellirune looked a little green, but David's arrival gave her something else to focus her attention on. "You alright?"

Giving a smile, David nodded and picked up his sandwich, taking a nibble of it, "I'm fine..." he glanced out the window briefly, "Though... you think anyone would mind if I was a little late?" Mellirune immediately shook her head. "Good, cause I don't feel like going back across just yet." Even the thought of it sent his heart rate up. Averting his eyes from the traffic, David took a few slow breaths and firmly turned his attention to lunch and ignoring Lina.

Very little in the way of conversation happened while they ate, poor Mellirune and her delicate stomach nibbling at her sandwich, getting at least half of it down before she couldn't stand any more, then Lina devoured the rest. David managed to ignore Lina enough to finish his sandwich, but he gave his chips to Lina, who ate them too. "Not very filling," she said and cracked her knuckles. "What kind of deserts do they have here?"

David chose to ignore the comment and refrained from pointing out that she was a pig. He didn't feel like getting a concussion today. "So where's Gourry?" he asked instead.

Flipping her hand lightly, the redhead replied, "Out practicing for the game on Saturday, so I don't have anything to do till tonight."

Mellirune frowned, "Wait... Gourry Gabriev?"

Lina cocked her head, and smiled, twirling some hair around her finger, "Yep. I'm his publicity manager."

"Hm," David murmured, "So that's how you can afford bikes like that."

Glancing aside, Lina chewed on her lower lip, "Look, I really am sorry about that... please don't sick your lawyer friend on me!" She looked back towards David, eyes pleading as she clasped her hands together. "I can't afford to have my reputation damaged like that! If you want money, I'll..." she winced, "Just...name your price. Okay?" she reached into the pocket of her jacked and pulled out her checkbook and started hunting for a pen.

David frowned slightly, "If I wanted money, I could bum it off Zelgadis, or Grandpa Rezo, or even Paul would take pity on me if I asked sweetly enough and threw in a few more free concert tickets. I told you I don't want the trouble of going to court over an accident. I only ask that you drive more carefully?" He winced slightly and glanced around as he realized he spoken quite loudly, catching the people behind the counter staring at him, as well as the other two customers who'd chosen to dine in. "Besides," he shrugged, taking an argument that Lina would understand better than his not caring about money. "Prince Phillionel thinks rather highly of me, since I told him I wasn't going to sue."

Lina snorted, "Going for the self sacrificial image, huh? Alright, fine." She put her checkbook away, having been unable to come up with a pen.

"If that's what you want to think," David agreed neutrally. Mellirune shook her head slightly.

"How about this," Melli leaned forward, "Give him a couple autographed pictures of Gourry and call the thing settled?"

Again, Lina snorted, this time with amusement, "Alright, deal." She held her hand out, and in confusion, David took it, sealing the deal. _"Wait! Gourry's that ...baseball guy who just hit sixty home runs and hasn't even finished the season. Oh yeah! Hm. Zelgadis likes baseball."_

"_Uh... what?"_ Rasmus asked, having not been paying attention.

Lina grinned, "Hey, I'll get you a pass into the press conference tonight and you can get them then."

Chewing his lower lip, David thought on that, "Uh... mind if I bring Zelgadis?"

Slapping her hands together, Lina grinned even more broadly with a demonic gleam in her eyes. "Yeah! That'd be great!"

David relaxed back in his seat, gazing at the far wall blankly, hands in his lap, trying to clear his mind and not think about the trip back to the office, but he wasn't succeeding very well and finally, when Rasmus reemerged, he stepped back from the controls and let his other self keep his heart from getting too stressed out while David fretted. A hand touched his and Rasmus blinked, glancing down at Melli who gave a reassuring smile. Playing the part of David, Rasmus returned it and looked towards Lina, who was frowning at him. "Your eye changed color," she observed.

"It does that from time to time," he answered, "Dunno why," he lied, "I can still see out of it, so no reason to mess with it."

Lina shivered, "It's really creepy."

Shrugging, Rasmus smiled slightly, "Sorry." Softly, David laughed in the background. _"Yes, I do enjoy freaking Lina out. For you, it was an accident, but she killed me on purpose."_

"_Now who's the one teasing?"_ David prodded jokingly.

Rasmus snorted at him, _"Not I... not really, cause she doesn't get it."_ At that, he grumbled, but turned his attention back towards what was going on outside of them. "It's time we got back to work, Lina," Rasmus said and got to his feet, and at David's prodding, picked up the garbage and stacked the trays and headed over to the trashcan. Mellirune grabbed her purse and followed, meeting him at the door. Lina tossed her hair over her shoulder and got up as well.

Pausing, Rasmus stepped back once more and let David take over, though the other did so rather reluctantly. _"Making me cross the street again..."_

"_It would be strange if you walked across casually without the least sign of fear," _Rasmus pointed out and David grumbled, eyeing the street dubiously, lunch turning into a hard lump in his stomach. Once more, he opened the door for the ladies and walked with them to the corner. He shivered, breaking into a sweat that wasn't quite so cold this time. It was just as hot outside as it had been before and the hard light in the burnt blue sky gave the buildings a surreal look in his terror-glazed vision.

Mellirune touched his arm, "You alright?"

"Yeah," David squeaked and cleared his throat, glanced towards the line of cars that pulled to a stop as the light changed, then took his courage in hand and dashed across. "Okay, it was worse that time," he admitted and took a moment to lean on the wall again, hand clutching his chest as the pain returned. Lina shook her head slightly and looked away, Mellirune looked worried, and he forced a smile, "I'll have to get over it," he told her, "It's...natural aversion to painful occurrences. You get bitten by a dog and you don't want to pet dogs anymore, right?" he was babbling, "It just takes... time to...get over something like this and I'll be alright, really, Melli. Really. Not planning on dying again anytime in the near future. The first time really sucked."

"Which reminds me; why DID you ask me about the future?" Lina asked.

David looked away, "I was having some serious delusions at the time, I don't know why I asked you that, but it seemed important at the time," he lied. He'd been doing that a lot lately. His heart hurt. "Why'd you ask if I was alright?" he returned, "Pretty stupid question, considering the situation."

Lina blushed, but replied, "Thinking back though, that was a kinda funny answer you gave me. 'No, I'm fucking dying!'."

Shocked, David started laughing, and once he'd started, couldn't stop, slowly doubling over with nearly hysterical giggles. "I don't remember that!" he gasped and wiped his eyes, finally managing to straighten. His chest still hurt, but she'd distracted him from the terror that he'd been pinned to the wall with. "Did I really say that?" Lina nodded, smiling slightly, and Rasmus blinked at her, then retreated again. Taking a deep breath, David let it out, "Thanks for distracting me," he said and turned a smile on Melli, then included Lina in that. "I guess I'll see you tonight- uh, when is it, and where?"

"Over at the civic center, at nine. Just follow the signs!" Lina replied and abruptly held her hand out towards him.

Without reservations, David took her hand, returning the firm grip and watched as she pulled her jacket back on and took her helmet out of the saddlebag of her bike. _"So what was that little moment of shock about, Rasmus?"_

"_That was the smile she gives her friends,"_ Rasmus murmured softly. _"I was... just surprised to see it... it made me realize... what I screwed up by being her enemy. Cephied..."_

"_Hey, you were being controlled by Eris,"_ David pointed out. _"You didn't have much choice."_

Softly, Rasmus sighed, _"If I could do it over..."_ but he didn't bother finishing that thought and retreated again.

Mellirune shook her head and fell into step beside David as he started off down the sidewalk. "You're really forgiving, you know that. It's amazing. I don't think I'd be able to just..." she vaguely waved her hand.

"Pick up and move on? I'd be a bad example if I didn't," David replied, "Zel would make it an excuse to wallow in angst even more than he does already. A little's fine for the show, but ...too much is bad for your health. Besides a little inconvenience now and then, I got a lot out of the experience." He smiled slightly, "I got an awesome new girlfriend who actually has a job, a promotion with a really important contract to work on, I got to meet Prince Phillionel, and Princess Amelia, went to my cousin's concert for free, and even made a couple new friends that I probably would never have met otherwise. Eventually, I'll be known as 'David Graywords, The Greatest Programmer in the World' rather than 'that guy who's related to Rezo and Zelgadis and lately got ran over by Gourry Gabriev's publicity manager'."

Once more, Melli was shaking her head, and this time, she added a deep sigh to it. "It's disgusting. Quit making jokes like that!" but David could see the laughter in her eyes.

Thankfully, there were no more issues on the way back to the office and David opened the backstairs door for Melli with relief, following her up to their floor once more. "You know," Melli added, "Everyone's been working really hard since you came back. They've been on rather good behavior too. We might even get this project done ahead of schedule."

"Or at least the first prototype code. Nothing like this has ever been tried before," David replied as they walked down the hall, his chest was still hurting, but he doubted anyone would begrudge him a moment or two with his office door closed while he cast that healing spell again. Besides, it gave them a moment to gossip. Winding their way through the cubical maze, David found that his programmers had all returned and were working hard in a controlled chaos, disks occasionally getting tossed over cubical walls and heads popping up to ask a question of a neighbor.

"Yo!" one man shouted, "David's back!"

Laughing lightly, David pried his hand from his chest, which he belatedly realized he was still clutching, "What? You thought I got lost?" he replied cheerfully, leaving Melli at her cubical and continuing on to his office. His comment was met with a bit of laughter and David smiled, stepping into his little room with a window, he closed the door lightly and leaned against it heavily, Rasmus coming to the fore to cast the spell again.

* * *

Trish kneeled on her desk and draped herself over her cubicle's back wall, peering down at Melli, "He was pretty pale," she observed, and the others hushed to overhear the conversation, heads popping up like a village of prairie dogs. "Something happen?"

Melli took a seat, "He keeps saying he's fine, but ... I think he's still not in the best shape," she admitted, "We crossed the street and I don't think I've ever seen anyone look so terrified before." Melli shook her head, "I met the woman that ran him over. He still doesn't want to take her to court, which I don't understand. He even agreed to show up in public with her." Firmly, she folded her arms on her chest and grumbled, "I just don't understand him sometimes."

It was then that David's office door opened again and he left it like that, returning to his seat at the computer on the other side of the room. Everyone ducked back down into their cubical and the ruckus started up once again as if they hadn't been eerily silent just seconds ago. David glanced up from his screen with a slight smirk on his lips, obviously aware that he'd been the topic of discussion and not really caring, his left eye was yellow again.


	9. Important Questions

She wasn't quite sure why she'd agreed, except that Amelia and Lina had been quite firm about it, "C'mon! Zel can handle looking at all that stuff we found by himself for a while. He'd probably appreciate the time alone, and Gourry's more interested in sleeping today," Lina had said.

"Pleeeeaaaseeee?" Amelia begged, "Come shopping with us?"

Sylphiel sighed. She needed groceries anyway. "Alright." Their first stop was a pawnshop where Lina sold off some jewelry she'd picked up somewhere for a bit of cold hard cash. Then they hit the clothing stores.

Their current location was one of the better stores in town, as well as the largest. Lina and Amelia had split off from Sylphiel at the door, heading towards the summer clothes while Sylphiel strayed towards the more durable and useful garments. She figured she needed some new clothes to garden in. "Miss Sylphiel!" Amelia called and the shrine maiden looked over from where she was fingering the cloth of a utilitarian tunic. "Do you think this is your size?" the dress Amelia held up was made of fine soft cloth, a thin dress with a slightly wider skirt that would have fallen to Sylphiel's mid shins. The top was held up by a tie that went behind the neck, and the color was a light lavender. "This would be great for wearing on a picnic!"

Blushing, she had to admit that it was pretty, and approached to take a better look at it. "It's really expensive, though," she observed, catching sight of the price tag.

Smiling, Amelia swept it away and folded it over her arm, "My present, then," she stated and Sylphiel's hands went to her face in embarrassment.

"Oh, Miss. Amelia! But-"

Amelia waved a finger, "come help me pick out one for myself. I think Miss Lina found one too."

Lina had indeed found a sundress to her liking. It was light pink. The skirt floated around her hips like a cloud and the back of her chosen dress was an array of crisscrossed strings, leaving her shoulders completely bare. "Miss Lina! That's adorable on you!"

Twirling, Lina grinned, "Ya think so?" she asked and brushed her hands across the front of her skirt. "I think I'll buy it. You going to get the purple one?"

"I was going to buy it for her," Amelia replied.

Grinning, Lina held up a finger, "I'll go halfsies," she announced. Sylphiel covered her face again, shocked at her friends' sudden graciousness. But it was a pretty dress, and the other two girls had already agreed to the deal, so Syl really had no say in it at all. Turning, Sylphiel looked at the rack of dresses, finally spotting something in pale blue.

Pulling it out for better inspection, she heard Amelia gasp, "That's so cute!" The dress had a somewhat shorter skirt, but it was full and had a neckline that hung off the shoulders with thin straps. Embroidered on the bottom hem were little pink butterflies. Turning, Sylphiel held the dress up to Amelia who posed, holding the skirt out, "I think it'll fit," she said, "Thanks for finding it, Miss Sylphiel!" Lina gave her approval, and together, they went to pay for their selections, Lina deciding to continue to wear her dress, her clothes and other stuff tucked away into her subspace pocket.

Chewing on her lower lip, Sylphiel changed into her dress as well, Amelia doing the same but without as much deliberation. Thankfully Sylphiel had already been dressed for the weather, wearing her shirt-shorts without the pants or cloak and a pair of sandals. Together, they left the store and headed down the street, Lina with her head confidently high as usual, and Amelia walking beside Sylphiel. Abruptly, Lina dropped back, "Hey, Syl, whatcha think of that guy?" she pointed covertly.

Sylphiel shook her head, "That's Marty, he's not really very nice to anyone."

"Too bad he's so handsome," Amelia mourned.

Lina huffed and pulled a face, "Guys like that piss me off." Amelia nodded agreement. "What about him?"

Sighing, Sylphiel shook her head again, "That's Tym, he's married."

"Miss Sylphiel!" The three came to a stop as a rather familiar figure appeared out of the crowd on the street, holding a bunch of flowers in his meaty hand.

Lina paled, "Valoon?" Amelia shivered.

The dark haired hero presented the flowers to Sylphiel from one knee, then blinked, looking at the two females standing on either side. "Miss Lili? Miss Lulu?" he looked from Amelia to Lina, both of which paled and clung to Sylphiel. "You're friends with Miss Sylphiel?" his eyes watered.

Drawing Sylphiel back behind them, Amelia and Lina stepped forward, Lina folding her arms firmly, "Yeah," she stated firmly.

Slowly, Valoon got to his feet, eyes wide and teary, "If...you see your sister, Miss Lala... tell her... Tell her that, though she broke my heart, I'll always have a special place there for her. But- tell her I've moved on! Miss Sylphiel, I've come to ask you to marry me!" He thrust the wilting flowers out towards her, even stupid enough to have some dirt and roots clinging to the stems still.

Sylphiel covered her face and sighed, "No, Mr. Valoon. I'm sorry, but... I can't marry you. I have someone else," she lied.

Amelia and Lina looked back at her curiously. Valoon took a step back, lifting a hand near his face in horror. "No- I shall- I shall CHALLENGE him to a duel for your heart! Where is he?"

"Aww! C'mon you moron! She doesn't want to marry you!" Lina shouted, "Don't make me fireball you!"

Sylphiel watched in horror as Lina powered up a fireball, but the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and she turned quickly, just in time to look up at the tall man that stood behind her. "Miss Sylphiel, is there a problem here?" he asked, lowering his hand from where he'd been about to place it on her shoulder. There was nothing physically wrong with him, but Sylphiel simply couldn't bring herself to look at his face, she really only recognized him by his dusty gray robes, gnarled old hands, wrinkled and bony with age, and his low resonating voice.

Shaking her head, Sylphiel clasped her hands together, "Um, no... Dean Magus," she answered softly.

"FIREBALL!" Lina shouted, and Valoon went flying.

Amelia pumped a fist, "Ha! Got him!"

Magus stared down at Sylphiel, a smirk creeping across his lips, "Are these sorceresses here to join our university?" he asked, "Perhaps as teachers?" The university had been established shortly after Phibrizzo had been destroyed. It was a remake of the old chimera and copy lab that had been based a short ways out of Sairaag. Though they cursed Lina Inverse for the inconvenience, they had truly intended to build a new facility for their projects, but had simply been nostalgically hanging onto the old building. Due to Sairaag's latest problems with magical mishaps, mages from across the land had begun coming to study there, pooling their knowledge on magic, much like the Shrine Maidens had always done, but now the classes at the university spanned from white magic all the way to black. And the one who ran the whole thing was none other than Dean Magus.

Lina turned, looking up at the man- and her eyes slid down to his wide lipped mouth, surrounded by wrinkles. "Uh, no..." she said, faltering.

Amelia turned as well, and found herself staring off to the left somewhere near his ear, which had some dark black hairs growing out of it. He had white hair otherwise, she could tell, but his eyes... "No, we're just visiting our friend," Amelia finished for Lina.

"Ah," Magus murmured, "I see. So this is why you asked for a few days off, Miss. Sylphiel." Though his tone wasn't patronizing, Sylphiel shrunk beneath his gaze. "I hope to see you refreshed and working hard after your break." He turned, and swept off with more speed than Lina would have given him credit for being able to possess.

The princess shivered, but Lina spoke first, "Who WAS that guy?"

Wrapping her arms around herself, Amelia tried to ward off the creepy chills that had seemed to make the day feel quite cold, "Yeah, he was scary!"

Closing her eyes, Sylphiel lowered her head, "That's Dean Magus, he runs the university. Miss Lina- can we get the groceries and go back home? I've had enough shopping for one day."

Lina nodded her agreement as did Amelia, and together, they headed towards the market lane.

* * *

Working together, putting the groceries away wasn't that difficult a task, it was just finding where to put them that was the problem, since Sylphiel didn't like keeping food in her subspace pocket. It was too easy to forget it there and have it go bad. The thought didn't appeal to Lina either, so they made quick work of sorting everything they could into the cupboards and icebox. At last, the three headed out into the backyard where Zelgadis was picking the lock on the old chest.

"Heyya Zel!" Lina called and he sighed, jiggling a pick in the lock. "Any luck here?"

Leaving the pick where it was, Zelgadis sat back. He'd taken his cloak off and was seated on it, his roll of lock picking tools on the ground beside him and plenty of picks that were discarded on the cloak around him. "Not really," he stated and stopped, actually –looking- at the ladies, and blinked, blushing slightly. "Uh..." Amelia brushed her hands on her skirt lightly, "Nice..." he finally stammered and shook his head, getting back to the business at hand, ignoring Lina's triumphant grin over getting a compliment from Zel. "I've sorted everything out and looked over the pile of gems. Most of them are just stones, nothing special at all, a few are just amplification stones. Emerald was Rezo's best focus stone, and that's what most of them are." He sighed, "The pile of books," he continued, "Are texts of magic, but nothing I'm interested in, or already know how to cast, or simply can't. Amelia and Sylphiel might want to look through that last stack over there though. Lina, that one by itself is yours."

Dashing over, Lina snatched it up, hugging it to her chest, squealing and jumping in circles. "You're so nice Zel! First complimenting us and then giving us presents! I'm beginning to think you –like- us!" she teased and sat down ungracefully where she was to crack open the book and start reading it. Amelia sighed and took a seat beside Zelgadis on his cloak, leaning forward to peer at the lock.

The Chimera blushed faintly and sighed, slouching somewhat as he stared at the lock as well, "Damn thing's broken, I think. I've tried spells to break it, been working at trying to pick it for the last hour, nothing's worked so far. I broke four picks on the thing," he complained, waving an irritated hand at it.

Amelia smiled, "Maybe..." she stood again and moved around to the back side of the trunk and crouched, "Mr. Zelgadis, the hinges are on the outside."

Peering at her over the trunk, Zelgadis leaned forward, squinting at her face, "Didn't know you were a thief at heart," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Stealing other people's things would be Unjust. However, since it's rightfully yours, figuring out how to open it any way we can is a good thing."

Zel laughed and moved around to look at the hinges more closely, "Yes, I could possibly inch the pins out." Reaching back over the trunk, he shuffled through his picks while Amelia admired the view of his rear. Settling back down to his heels, Zelgadis applied the wedge and small hammer he'd selected from his tools and began tapping. Slowly, the pin came out, rust cracking from the hinge at every pound of the hammer. Finally the pin fell to the grass and Zel moved over to the other hinge. "Wish I'd thought of this," he muttered, "would have saved me several hours and some good picks."

Placing her hands on his shoulder, Amelia leaned down near his ear and replied, "I'll buy you a new set, if you want." He blushed, and after a hesitating second, nodded. Grinning, she hugged him, sending his blush even deeper.

The second pin dropped to the grass. "Move back, Amelia, in case it's got a trap on it." Nodding, Amelia let go of him and stood, stepping back several paces, then moved around to the front of the box to take hold of Zelgadis's cloak and move it, tools and all, out of the way. Hooking his fingers under the edge of the lid, Zelgadis heaved. The heavy lid raised and crashed to the ground on the other side, still attached by that bloody lock. Nothing but a puff of dust rose up from the box, and Zelgadis peered in curiously.

Leaning forward, Amelia peeked in as well. "Wow, that's... kinda pretty in a... creepy way," she observed.

Reaching in, Zelgadis lifted the statue out. It was a figure, vaguely human, slender and maybe a little tree-like swaying slightly to one side, from it's hands and arms dangled panels of metal, which tinkled together musically as it was moved, and in the center of the statue's chest was a gem that looked like a spider's eye.

Lina looked up from her book and looked around, finding Sylphiel tending her flowers, rather than minding what her guests were doing, then spotted Amelia and Zel's prize. Slapping the book closed, Lina got to her feet and walked over, crouching down to look at the strange creation. "That's creepy," she pronounced it, but closed her eyes as she fell into a light trance. "It certainly has a lot of power on it, though." Reaching out, she touched one of the chimes and sent it clinking against it's neighbor as she snatched her hand back, looking at the blood creeping down from a cut on her finger. Wincing, she stuck it in her mouth, "Bloody things are sharp!" she complained. Zelgadis took his turn, and safely lifted one of the metal bars. It was a long thin triangular shape, and though all the bars appeared to be the same size, they gave off different tones when struck with one of Zelgadis's lock picks.

"You think this is the Mirror Breaker?" Amelia asked.

Frowning, Zelgadis shook his head, "I really don't know. I don't have enough information to go on at all. I was thinking of stopping by the university library to see if they had any information. Maybe I'll take this with me? It's the most powerful thing we've found so far."

Amelia reluctantly nodded, "Though, I think we should probably stick it back in the trunk, so it doesn't get damaged in transit." Nodding, Zelgadis lifted the strange statue up again and placed it back into the cubby within the black velvet padding of the trunk. Carefully, he pulled the lid back up and set it into place to match the hinges, then tapped the pins back in lightly to hold it down. "Besides," Amelia added, "The University started as a lab researching chimeras and copies."

"Exactly my thoughts, Amelia," Zelgadis replied and cast her a smile.

Lina shivered, "Just so long as we don't have to talk to Dean Magus. He's creepy!"

Looking from one female to the other, Zelgadis looked back towards Sylphiel, "Should we all go?" he asked, a subtle invitation for Lina and the others to join him in his little quest.

Standing, Lina brushed the back of her skirt off, "I think we should," she stated. "Just in case they decide to make an experiment out of you. I wouldn't want –you- to get all the fun of blowing them up!"

Getting to his feet, Zelgadis worked at collecting up his tools and stuck them back into his subspace pocket, then pulled his cloak on. "Alright-" he started.

"But AFTER lunch!"


	10. Repetition of Destiny

Unlocking his apartment door, David stepped in with a sigh of relief. He still couldn't quite believe that a media reporter had managed to track him down and had accosted him in the parking garage at work, but after politely answering a few questions, David had gotten fed up with the rather personal subjects and had insisted that he had other appointments to attend to then climbed into his car. Hopefully they wouldn't follow him home. Maybe he should get a new car, just to throw them off. Or rent one for the trip.

Stepping in, David came to a stop, "oh no," he moaned and slammed the door shut as Samantha stood from the reassembled couch and adjusted her little black dress, the one that barely covered anything important. "Oh yes, my love!" she gushed and bounced across the floor to drop her arms around his shoulders and angle for a kiss that he denied her by turning his head.

Zelgadis stepped out of the kitchen, munching on some popcorn. "Sorry," he said, "But she had a key of her own and I was in the shower."

"Damn it," David muttered and reached up to pull Samantha's arms away. "Get off me, Samantha," he grumped when she locked her fingers behind his head.

The tall willowy blonde woman smiled alluringly, her emerald green eyes flashing coyly, "Not till I get a kiss!" she toyed with his hair, "My love."

"Love of the moment, you mean," David gave up trying to be gentle and pulled her arms away. She winced and staggered back as he pushed her off. "Four months, Sam, I haven't seen you in four months, and you could have visited me in the hospital too. Oh, but I wasn't in good enough shape to screw then, or buy you jewelry or dinner. But now, I've been on TV every night for the last week and I got a raise, so you show up again." She looked shocked, but he pushed past her and picked up her purse from the coffee table, shuffled in it and pulled out her key ring, which had not only the keys to six expensive cars, but at least twelve other apartment keys. He located his and removed it. "I'm telling you once, civilly, Samantha, to get out of my apartment. After that, I'm going to enforce it." He dropped the rest of her keys back into her purse and held it out to her.

Taking a breath, the woman pouted her lips, pretty almond shaped eyes watering, then overflowing artfully down her high cheekbones to the corners of her full lips. "No," David snapped, "I'm not falling for that anymore, get out and don't come back." He pushed her purse to her chest and her arms snapped up to wrap around it, and his hand with it.

Zelgadis leaned against the couch, munching his popcorn, hair still damp and wearing one of David's ratty tee shirts. "Oh, Sylphiel called, said she'd be over around seven thirty." Zel decided to mention.

Immediately, David looked at the clock, then scowled at Samantha. Moving quickly, he reached around her and opened the door, shoving his ex-girlfriend out. She staggered a few steps once he got his hand free. "But- David! I- I- I thought you _loved me_!" she started to wail, clinging to her purse.

"I was infatuated, Sam. Nothing else. You used me, and I'm tired of it. Go away." She hiccupped, and started to sob, biting her lower lip, face actually starting to splotch as she burst into real tears. It was probably the first time in her twenty some years she'd been rejected and David wasn't the least bit bothered by it. The elevator door opened just down the hall, and David stopped himself from slamming the door on Samantha as he saw Sylphiel step out, carrying a heavy looking paper grocery bag. She was clad in a thigh length yellow sundress with large white flowers in an abstract design, her feet clad in white leather sandals with the barest hint of a heel to them. Her simplicity was far more stunning than Samantha's slinky style and overuse of makeup. He smiled and cheerfully waved to Sylphiel, heart lightening at the sight of her, despite the ongoing argument.

Straightening slightly, Samantha looked down the hall to see whom he was waving at, then snapped around to him once more. "Oh, I get it now! You cheating bastard! You found the newer model and out I go!" she accused.

David looked at her and laughed, heartlessly, "Yes, she's prettier than you, but that's not why. She's actually got a job, and a place of her own. She can pay her own bills and drives her own car, which she probably bought with her own money." Sylphiel blushed brightly, one arm holding the bag of groceries she'd brought, her other hand going to her mouth, eyes wide. "And she actually cares about other people- someone other than herself!"

Stepping out of his apartment, David went over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "The slimy ex," he explained, "she just showed up. Zel neglected to tell me that you'd called. Sorry you had to see this."

Swallowing, Sylphiel nodded and blinked, shrinking against David's side in the face of Samantha's Glare of Death. "If you think all that, David, than she's fooling you. That's the mayor's daughter, if you hadn't noticed."

"I noticed," David smiled an infuriatingly calm smile, Zelgadis had moved to the door, still watching, as if the whole thing were a play put on for his amusement. "All things considered, I think she's more on a level with my social standing," he added, a very low blow, but the only one that would really piss Samantha off and make her go away. "I can't be seen around town with some nobody when I'm having lunch with royalty and celebrities."

Sylphiel blushed even more deeply and covered her mouth again, then turned and swatted David, "That's a terrible thing to say!" she huffed and he caught her before she could run off, pulling her into his apartment. Zelgadis followed and shut the door behind them, locking it. "David!" Sylphiel sobbed and he took the bag from her.

"I'm sorry, Syl, I had to fight on her level, being civilized with her wasn't going to work." David took her shoulders in his hands and bent to be on eye-level as she wiped at her tears. Moving his hands, he caught hers and kissed her forehead. "Please- Syl, I don't treat everyone like that, and I didn't mean it anyway. You could have been the baker's daughter and I'd have still fallen for you. I love you because you care about others so much, to the point of forgetting about yourself, and you stand on your own feet, you don't depend on anyone to take care of you, not like she does. She's a parasite, she lives off everyone around her, and the only reason why she was crying was because I was the first to reject her."

Still, Sylphiel hadn't stopped crying, and David was really beginning to fret. He pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her, "Please believe me. I was just trying to get rid of her, that's all."

Hiccupping, Sylphiel clutched his shirt, burying her face against his chest. Thankfully, unlike Samantha, she didn't wear heavy amounts of makeup that smeared when she cried and got all over clothes. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his hand in her hair then put his cheek against her hair as well, savoring her scent. "You...really... didn't mean...mean that about... the royalty and..." Sylphiel hiccupped.

"No," David said softly, "You can ask Zel whether I care about status. I just told Samantha that so she'd get mad and go away. I didn't mean to upset you. She'll probably get a grudge against me now and go find someone important to seduce as an attempt to make me see what I lost with her. In my opinion, I lost nothing more than a drain on my bank account and a headache." He kissed Sylphiel's hair lightly.

Sniffling, she lifted her head and looked up at him, looking at his eyes for a long moment, then nodded and slid her arms up, wrapping them around his shoulders. "Okay," she agreed finally, forgiving him. He kissed her forehead and smiled at her, she gave a faltering smile in return and he kissed her cheek and hugged her.

"Damn," Zelgadis sighed, "You two are about as chaste as a pair of nuns!" He flopped on the couch and picked up the remote, flipping through the channels. "Oh- awesome! Gourry Gabriev's in town!"

Snorting a laugh against Sylphiel's neck, David spent another moment hugging her, then released her, "Yeah, and Lina said we had to come to the press conference to get our autographed pictures." Sylphiel wiped her face with the backs of her hands and David touched her cheek lightly, "Bathroom's right through there," he pointed and she smiled that gorgeous smile of hers and headed off in that direction.

Zelgadis blinked and looked up at him. "Lina-? Who's that?"

"The chick that parked her bike in my chest," David replied, picking up the bag Sylphiel had brought and finding massive amounts of food within it. "She's Gourry's publicity manager." Zel's jaw dropped.

"You're shittin me," he whispered.

David shook his head, "Nope, happened to see her this afternoon and had lunch with her. She wanted to pay me off again."

Setting the popcorn bowl on the cleaned coffee table, Zelgadis flopped over the arm of the couch, "Let me guess, you wouldn't let her. You complain about not having any money and then won't take what you're owed! You won't let me pay off your hospital bill, for god's sake! What's wrong with you? It's just a couple thousand, no sweat!"

Sighing, David headed towards the kitchen and started putting the groceries away. "Will you give up on that if I let you buy me a new car?" he asked.

Immediately, Zelgadis jumped to his feet, "YES! I knew I'd talk you into it eventually!"

Rolling his eyes, David looked back at Zel and replied, "I think the news reporters got a good look at my license plate when I ditched them at the office, that's all."

Zelgadis flopped back on the couch again as Sylphiel returned, face washed, and looking a lot better, "Damn it," the Rockstar muttered and lounged on the arm of the couch again, "Oh, my producer also called today. He really wants to record 'Harder to Breathe' but I told him I wouldn't play it without you."

"God, you didn't give him my number, did you?" David looked back at his cousin who shook his head.

"I told him I'd see if I could talk you into it."

Turning back to his work of unloading the bag, David added, "They're already playing a rip of the concert on the radio. Oh, and thanks for cleaning up. You didn't have to go as far as you did though."

Folding his arms, Zelgadis rested his chin on them, "I did too. Vacuuming required picking up all your mail, which is in a mountain in your computer room, and under the mail were dirty clothes, which I hauled downstairs and got washed because there was no where to put them that was off the floor unless they were clean. Under the clothes, I found a solid layer of pizza boxes and chip bags, which required a garbage run. Once I'd picked up the dishes, I discovered that you actually had a counter top and I think it had sentient life growing on it in places, because I believe my application of 409 interrupted the peace talks between the green glop and the orange."

Sylphiel started laughing softly, "I guess anyone looking for you wouldn't believe you were their idol, carrying around dirty laundry and bags of garbage." She reached over and stopped David from putting away a few of her groceries, then began searching through his cupboards. "Does stir-fry sound good for dinner?" she asked.

Giving a snort, Zelgadis favored her with a smile, "Yeah, that and I neglected to wear my sunglasses and earrings."

"All of which is fake, the retard's afraid of getting his ears pierced," David supplied, and finished emptying Sylphiel's bag. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he kissed her neck. "Sounds like heaven," he added, answering her question on the topic of dinner.

Sitting up, Zelgadis glowered, "If I really had that many holes in my ears, it'd take twice as long to wash them! I just don't want them falling off from infection. And you can forget getting through airport security."

Again, Sylphiel laughed, leaning back against David's chest and cupping his cheek lightly with one hand, fingers playing with the hair on the back of his neck. "I think it's a good reason," she replied, "I've only got the one set and I have to make sure my earrings are good and clean before I wear them."

Zelgadis gave a firm nod, "See?" he huffed, then turned, grabbing his popcorn again and started eating it, eyes turning back towards the TV just in time to see the latest story.

"-I'm Cassandra Yomez, live at Cephied Corp to speak with David Graywords, and here he is! David! David, may I call you that? Thanks!" The camera focused on David's face, which wore an expression of mixed dread and confusion. His left eye faded from yellow to blue.

"That's so fucking WEIRD!" Zelgadis shouted and threw some popcorn at the screen.

David turned and looked, "Bah! That's the woman that accosted me today. Made me late getting home."

"-What's your opinion on the space lab project? Do you think it's possible?" Cassandra rushed to ask when David looked as if he was going to run away.

Fixing his expression to one of mild politeness, David gave a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "I think it's a great opportunity to find the limits of our technology and go beyond them. To me, the lab is just the first step. If we pull it off, then there's a thousand places we can go from there, and as long as I'm working on the project, I'll put my all into making it happen." He gave a real smile then, somewhat predatory, "I like the challenge."

Cassandra pulled the microphone back and said into it, a bit more calmly this time, "What about the proposed budget? Do you think it's a little high? Or not high enough?"

"I can't tell right now," he admitted, "So far, the coding department is ahead of schedule, but that's just the prototype. We've never done this kind of thing before, so everything we're doing is breaking new ground and it's a question as to whether what we've come up with will work. We'll have to see how it goes in the test run, I think that'll really be the deciding factor as to whether the project will go over budget or not. If it doesn't work, we'll have to take the time to figure out what's wrong and tweak. And that doesn't just apply to the code, but the whole thing."

David gave a snort and slid his arm around Sylphiel's waist as they moved to stand behind the couch, watching the interview. She leaned against his side and slid her own arm around his hips, hooking her thumb into his pants. Looking up at him, she smiled, "I think you gave wonderful answers," she told him.

Smirking slightly, David kissed her forehead, "I tried to make them wordy so that I'd eat up her broadcasting time and she'd only have gotten a few questions answered." He winked at her, "Save some for later, you know." Sylphiel laughed.

On the TV, Cassandra had apparently turned into a disembodied arm, for the camera was focused on David alone, "What if the whole thing falls through?" she asked, "Are you considering going into the music business with your brother?"

"Cousin," David said, both on TV and in real life, "First cousin," the TV David added where the other shut up, "Our fathers were brothers, sons of Dr. Rezo Graywords. As for show biz, I don't think so. I didn't go to college for nothing. If this doesn't work," he shrugged, "Oh well, we can try again till it does work, or if it's impossible, then I'll accept defeat and move on, but I like my job and don't feel like changing this late in life."

"Speaking of which," Cassandra said, and there was a brief shot of her handsome face, her brunet hair pulled back into a ponytail, "How old _are_ you." The camera went back to David, just in time to catch the hastily covered expression of shock, "And are you single?" His left eye shifted back to yellow as his expression went completely deadpan and serious. Zelgadis threw another handful of popcorn at the screen.

"I'm twenty eight, and currently seeing someone," David replied flatly.

There was a moment of hesitation, but the woman recovered a second later, "What about your brother?" Cassandra insisted. When she held the microphone out, it wasn't quite as close as it had been before.

Frowning, David shook his head, "Zelgadis is my cousin," he repeated firmly, "As for him, you can ask him that yourself."

"So you don't have any siblings? How steady is your relationship?"

Sighing, David shook his head, "I'm sorry, Ms. Yomez," he looked at his watch, "I've got other appointments to attend tonight. Perhaps we can talk some other time." With that, he turned away and managed not to run to his car and climbed in.

The TV switched back to the newscasters at the big desk and idle chatter about the interview followed. Zelgadis's soft laughter grew in volume until he was cackling and he set the bowl of popcorn down on the coffee table to keep from spilling the remaining kernels on the carpet. "That was great, Dave," Zel gasped, "Really. Couldn't have done better myself, I think the eye-trick freaked her out a little!"

David shook his head slightly and kissed Sylphiel before he let her go get back to making dinner, "Syl, you want to come with us when we go to the press conference?"

Pausing, she looked up at the ceiling, then shook her head, "You haven't met my father yet," she stated, "It'd be rude to go on TV with you before we told him."

Wincing, David sighed, "Should set a date for that," he muttered.

Turning and clasping her hands behind her back, Sylphiel smiled, "Is tomorrow night alright?" He nodded. "Okay."

Leaning down, David folded his arms on the back of the couch and stared at the TV for a moment. Zelgadis sat up and turned, lowering his voice, "I like this one," he whispered, "Keep her."

Softly laughing, David hung his head briefly; "Oh, and now you dictate whom I date?"

"No," Zel replied, "just the last few I've met've been terrible. Too much like Eris for me..."

Pressing his lips together, David sighed, "Looking back... I have to agree," he muttered. "I don't intend to let Syl go, and if I've gotta bend over backwards and jump through hoops to keep her, then so be it." He pushed off the couch and straightened. "I'd better go sort that mountain of mail," he muttered and headed in to his computer room. Besides, he needed to check his email. "Oh," he called out the door after he'd sat down, "The thing with Gourry's at nine."

"Okay," Zelgadis replied and David watched him pass with the popcorn bowl, which he emptied of the crumbs and seeds into the garbage can, as well as the stuff he'd thrown at the TV apparently. David smiled at that, then turned back to the pile of mail. Zelgadis hadn't been exaggerating when he said it was a mountain. Getting up, he pulled a garbage can over and started sorting. Most of it was junk, but a few were important, like his written invitation to Rezo's impromptu family reunion, which was dated as having come from when he'd been hospitalized. He frowned.

Turning, David leaned over to peer out the door of his computer room, "Hey, Zel," he called, "did you pick up my back mail from the landlady too?" Shifting, he kicked his shoes off so as to get more comfortable on the floor.

"Huh? Yeah. I figured you'd forgotten to since I _knew_ Rezo had sent you a letter too and I couldn't find it. I doubted you'd thrown it away already, what with the stuff from April still lurking in the corners."

Giving a soft hrm, David sat up, "Thanks," he said and went back to sorting.

He was only halfway through the pile by the time Sylphiel called, "Dinner's ready." Getting to his feet, David stretched and followed his nose to the kitchen. He was given a plate, and took it and himself to the living room where he turned off the TV and took a seat on the floor, sitting at the coffee table. Sylphiel and Zelgadis followed his example. "You should get a table, David," she said softly, eyes lowered, "A real one."

With that, she clasped her hands together and gave the traditional blessing, "Dear father in heaven, we thank you for this meal, and that we could all be here to share it." She lowered her hands and took up her fork, David following suit.

"If you really want me to," he replied, taking his first bite of Sylphiel's cooking.

"Wow," Zelgadis muttered, "I've been eating out of five-star restaurants for the last two years, and none of them have had food this good. David, if you don't marry her, I will!" Blushing crimson to the roots of her hair, Sylphiel ducked her head slightly, laughing.

Shaking his head, David looked towards Sylphiel, "So, did you save any lives today?"

Smiling slightly, she shook her head, "We had a new patient come in from an accident this morning, but other than that, nothing new."

"Sort of good and bad, I suppose," David replied and reached over to touch her cheek lightly. Zelgadis pretended to not notice the look the two exchanged and focused on his dinner. "Well..." he sighed, "I crossed the street today," he stated, "twice."

Sylphiel beamed at him, "Oh, David!" she set her fork down and moved around the table to give him a hug and deep kiss. Startled at first, David returned her embrace, pulling her in to make good use of her lips. After a sufficient time, David let her go and she gasped for air then smiled at him, "I'm so proud of you!"

Laughing softly, "If that's my reward, I think I'll do it more often," David joked.

Zelgadis shook his head, staring at the two across the coffee table from him, "I take back what I said about you two being nuns," he muttered, focusing his gaze on his plate again. David shot him a look.

Hugging him again, Sylphiel kissed his cheek and finally settled beside him and pulled her plate over to her new place at the table. "Did you have any problems?" she asked.

Poking at his plate for a moment, David admitted, "I had help. The first time, I was too distracted to get too freaked out. The second time was harder. Lina joked with me afterwards, too, and that helped. I had a bit of pain in my chest, but I think that was because I was terrified and my heart hasn't worked that hard in a while. That went away after I calmed down though." He paused, and admitted, "And did a bit of Healing," subtly informing them that there was no reason to hide his strange new powers from each other.

Zelgadis gave a nod, "Good, I'm glad you're putting that to use."

Sylphiel glanced towards the Rockstar, then smiled slightly, "I am too. You probably had that pain because they had to stitch your heart back together." Zel frowned as the ramifications of that sunk in. He looked David over carefully and muttered, "did a little healing, yeah right."

Sylphiel patted David's thigh lightly and smiled up at him. It took him a great deal of control to keep from pouncing on her then and there. David closed his eyes and focused his mind on the most non-erotic thing he could think of. _"City sewers,"_ Rasmus supplied, _"On a hot summer day."_ David twitched, desire duly killed. He opened his eyes again and after a moment more, managed to turn his attention back to dinner, glancing up to catch Zelgadis's knowing look.

The rest of dinner was conducted in appreciative silence and once they were all finished, David picked up the dishes and took them to the sink, doing a quick check on the time. Eight fifteen, "Hey, Zel, we going to be fashionably late or are you going to get dressed?"

Sighing, the young man got to his feet and padded over to his suitcase, pulling out a smaller bag and some clothes which were a lot more form fitting than the ones he was currently wearing, then took himself off to the bathroom. "I suppose I should put on some fresh clothes too," David sighed.

Getting to her feet, Sylphiel came over to him and slid her arms around his shoulders. "I guess I'd better go. I have something I have to do tonight too." She drew herself up onto her toes and kissed him, burying her hands into his hair.

Closing his eyes, David met her kiss, and deepened it, savoring the taste of her mouth. His arms wrapped around her, hands splaying across her back, but they didn't stay there for long, and he soon had her perched on the edge of the counter top, one thigh between his while the other crept up his hip on its own. He could feel the heat of her blush, but she wasn't pulling back- the opposite in fact.

Gasping for air, David pulled back, "You drive me insane," he told her, feeling thrills running down his spine every time she moved her fingers. Her hot breath washed across his neck and ear as she nuzzled his cheek.

"Ahem!"

David started and opened his eyes, pulling back to look at Sylphiel as she ducked her head, running her hands through her hair to untangle it and blushing so brightly that he was afraid she'd catch fire. Stepping back, David straightened her skirt and helped her down off the counter. _"City sewers, city sewers!"_ David chanted, trying to get his mind off of what had just happened.

Turning, he gave a slightly soured smile to Zelgadis, who was dressed in a pair of tight jeans and a sleeveless shirt that buttoned up the front, but was left mostly undone and tucked into his pants. Around his hips was a double wrapped wide black belt with silver studs and several chains. The front part of his bangs spiked up, and his various earrings were in place. A hint of black on his eyelids made them all the more Goth as he stared at them with a hint of amusement pulling his lips. He shifted his weight to one hip and stuffed his thumbs into pockets he couldn't hide a quarter in. "Bathroom's yours," Zel flicked his head in the direction of the bathroom.

Sighing, David glanced towards Sylphiel, who was still staring at the floor, blushing, and playing with her hair, then turned and headed over to his dresser, pulling out some new clothes to wear. _"City sewers..."_ Rasmus reminded, and sounded as if he needed to remember it as well.

"_Right."_

Reaching the bathroom, David closed the door and took a moment to wash his face, then switched his clothes, reapplied deodorant, then looked at his shadow of a beard in the mirror. The front door opened and David could faintly hear Zelgadis ask, "Did they really stitch his heart back together?"

Sylphiel's murmur was "Yes... I need to go."

Then Zelgadis's reply as they moved further away from the bathroom door sounded like "no problem, drive careful," and then the door shut again. Shuffling in his old pants, he pulled out his keys and wallet and transferred them over.

Focusing his eyes on the mirror, David watched as his left eye faded from blue to yellow and Rasmus lifted his hands; a flash later and David was as clean-shaven as he'd been that morning. "Thanks," he whispered and Rasmus faded back into the background. He shifted his shoulders, "I need a jacket."

Opening the door, David stepped out and scrubbed his hand across his face. It was a weird feeling to have a part of himself time-reversed. Predictably, Sylphiel was gone. "What'd she say when she left?" he asked Zelgadis who was packing away the remains of dinner into the fridge.

"Oh- just that she had to go, and... for some reason, she apologized to me, like I care that she was kissing you. So what were you thinking during dinner?" Zelgadis straightened and shut the fridge door and dusted his hands.

Blinking, David quirked a brow, "Huh?"

Grinning broadly, Zelgadis winked, "You were thinking _something_ to keep from groping her."

"Oh... city sewers on a hot day," David admitted, then turned towards the computer room to find up his shoes and shuffled in the closet a moment, hunting down a jacket that would go with his pants. "We'd better get going. Parking's going to be a bitch."

Folding his arms, Zelgadis sighed gustily, "What's the world coming to?" he smirked slightly, then headed towards the door, where David joined him and pulled out his keys and locked the apartment. "Elevator or stairs? I'm wound up..."

"Stairs then." Together, they turned and headed towards the stairs, Zelgadis jingling loudly as they went. "Doesn't that ever get on your nerves?"

Zel shrugged, "Nah, the chains aren't the worst part."

Eyeing his cousin, David snorted, "Do I even want to know what the worst part is?"

Laughing, Zel hopped onto the railing and slid down to the next landing, "The bloody makeup, that's the worst part. At least I'm not like the Blue Men, now there's some god-awful makeup. Latex on stage is the most uncomfortable thing in the world."

David hmmed, just walking down the stairs casually, "I heard of them," he admitted. "You met them?"

Leaning against the railing while he waited for David, Zelgadis folded his arms, "Heard of them? God, Dave, you need to quit pecking that keyboard and turn on a radio some time. And yes, I did meet them, was on a talk show with them. They let me play their PVC pipe organ. It was awesome. I'd steal it, but that'd be mean." By then, David had joined him and Zel slid down to the next landing. "C'mon, Dave, you're sloooow!"

"Hey, let the zombie walk at its own pace!" David told him back, but did pick up his stride a little, "You wanted to take the stairs, after all. ...just to slide down the banister."

Flashing a grin, Zelgadis slid down to the next landing, "Yep," he called, "Practicing for when we get to Gramp's house."

Pausing, David glanced around, then hopped onto the railing and slid down it. "I think I'm getting old," he complained. "I'm almost thirty and still not married."

"Only cause you kept picking looser girlfriends," Zelgadis pointed out and slid down to the next landing.

Huffing, David followed suit, "You're one to talk," he replied.

"Don't you dare mention that in public!" Zelgadis stopped and leveled a finger at David, who grinned innocently.

Moving past Zelgadis, he slid down to the next floor and Zel scampered down the stairs after him, "I wasn't going to say anything, just pointing out that you've had a few run-ins yourself. So it's not only my bad taste. Good women are hard to find."

Hopping off the railing, David fell into step beside Zelgadis as they bounded down the steps in a loud clatter of Zel's steel-toed boots and chains and David's dress shoes, which he'd worn to work. Together, they reached the ground floor and headed towards the front door. "David-" the landlady called, "David?" she shuffled out of the office, "A young man came and got your mail... Oh."

David smiled at her, "Yeah, this is my cousin, Zelgadis. Uh, don't worry about the clothes, it's his costume, we're heading out to be on TV."

"Oh... oh, well, drive careful," she said and smiled and waved vaguely as they headed out the front door.

Zelgadis folded his arms and hmmed, "She's a nice old lady," he commented and hopped up to walk on the brick wall lining the flowerbed beside the building.

"Oh my god! It's ZELGADIS!" a squeal from nearby had both of them turning to look.

"Ack!" Zelgadis hopped back to the sidewalk, "RUN, Dave! Run!" He burst into action, "What level did you park on?"

Laughing his ass off, David dashed after him, "First!" he called back and Zelgadis turned the corner, jogging into the garage, he located David's car and bounced off it before diving around behind and to the passenger side.

"Hurry! They're catching up!" Zel banged on the hood of the car and David pulled out his keys and found the right one, getting the door unlocked, he hopped in and shut it, then unlocked Zel's door. Diving in, Zelgadis slammed his door and locked it, then yanked his seatbelt on. David turned the car on and backed out of the parking space just as the group of three girls came jogging up through the entrance. They dodged aside from the car and Zelgadis rolled his window down and hung out of it, "Sorry Ladies, but gotta go be on TV!"

"WE LOVE YOU!" the shouted back at him.

He waved at them again and pulled back in and rolled up the window. David held out his hand and Zel caught it in their handshake. "Never thought you'd have to run from screaming fangirls, did you?"

Laughing, David gunned it and sped on down the road, "No, but that was kinda fun."

Sitting forward, Zelgadis turned on the radio and found a good station. "Wow, haven't heard this song in years."

"Not since we were kids," David agreed, "time flies, doesn't it?" Zelgadis nodded sagely in agreement as David belatedly pulled on his own seatbelt at a stoplight. The rest of the drive was conducted in silence and David managed to locate a parking garage near the civic center that wasn't full yet. Pulling up to the booth, David rolled down his window and shuffled in his back pocket for his wallet.

At the booth, the rent-a-cop leaned down to look in the window at the two.

"David!" Zel protested. "You're not going to pay, are you?"

"You may be a superstar, but I'm just a civilian, and when I'm your driver, we do things my way," David replied, then turned towards the cop, "Two dollars?"

Slowly, the man nodded, "Is that... Zelgadis?"

Leaning closer, Zelgadis gave a lazy smirk, "Sure is."

Biting his lip briefly, the man shuffled in his booth and found a blank piece of paper and a pen, "My daughter's birthday is tomorrow and... well, she's a real big fan of yours."

David sighed and took the pen and paper and handed it over to Zel and paid for their parking space in the garage. "What's her name?" Zelgadis asked.

"Natoli, she'll be thirteen," the cop said.

"Dear... N-a-t-o-l-i?" he looked up at the cop, who nodded. Pausing, Zelgadis pondered what to write, and finally went for simple, "Happy thirteenth, my dear devoted fan. Love ya. Zelgadis Graywords." Folding the paper, Zelgadis handed it and the pen back to the man and David drove on, hunting down a place to park. Finally, he found one and they got out. Zelgadis stretched, then did a quick dance step, and as they passed the cop, he gave a wave.

Side by side, they walked down the sidewalk, David shoving his hands into his pockets. The air had cooled off considerably, but it was still a bit too warm to wear a jacket, and David left his open. Zelgadis had the better end of the deal, after all, he had on that shirt that was mostly open. David envied him for a moment.

"So when're you going to marry her?"

Blinking, David looked towards his cousin, "Sylphiel? Ah, we've only known each other for a few weeks, only officially been dating for two, and I haven't met her father. I think marriage is a bit far off."

Hmming softly, Zelgadis laced his fingers together and hooked them behind his head, "Yeah, you kiss like a new couple... Where'd you learn to kiss like that though? She was so ready to screw you right there."

A blush touched David's cheeks, "Our relationship isn't about sex. We... haven't..."

"Wow."

David sighed, "And if I can help it, we're not going to. ...Samantha was a quick fuck," he admitted, "And Karen and... damn, all my girlfriends so far. Sylphiel's different. She's worth some inconvenience."

Zelgadis dropped his hands to his sides once more, "So you want to marry her."

"Damn straight," David agreed, "I just... hope I can live up to her expectations. She had a crush on Gourry for the longest... Since high school, maybe before."

Leaning closer, Zelgadis quirked an eyebrow, "You mean..." he gestured to the building ahead of them, around which there was a crowd of media, "That Gourry? She went to high school with him? Why didn't you mention that!"

Opening his mouth, David prepared to defend himself and claim that he hadn't known that the Gourry she knew had been the famous baseball star Gourry Gabriev, but it was at that point that someone happened to glance back and shouted, "Zelgadis! There's Zelgadis! And David Graywords!"

The media people rushed to surround them, taking pictures, microphones shoved in their direction, and questions being shouted. Lina and Gourry immediately shoved their way through the crowd. Lina latched onto David's arm and he smiled at her. "Zelgadis, Mr. Graywords, what brings you here?" a reporter asked.

Zelgadis held up his hands, and silence fell, "We came, because Ms. Inverse was so kind as to invite us. I happen to be a fan of Mr. Gabriev's."

"Why would Ms. Inverse invite you though?" shouted another reporter and Zel gestured towards David.

Laughing softly, David patted Lina's hand on his arm, "Just to show that I don't hold a grudge against Ms. Inverse for parking her bike on me."

Lina pulled a face briefly, "It was entirely an accident, but I'm so glad we met!" She gave a cute laugh and smile and pulled his arm, so he walked with her up the stairs and into the Civic center. "You were nearly late," she accused him.

"Fashionably so," David replied, "We had to outrun some fangirls." Zelgadis walked with Gourry behind them, chatting about whether there was a technique to hitting homeruns or not. David only glanced back once, to see the herd of media following along behind them. But they took a left turn and the vultures were cut off by the security that blocked the path.

Giving a huff, Lina shook her hair out. She was wearing a black pantsuit with a pale blue silk shirt underneath and displayed on top of it was a heart shaped diamond hung from a silver chain. "Well, you aren't the last ones to show. The mayor and his daughter aren't here yet." She frowned, "What's so funny?"

David looked back at Zelgadis, "Check this, Zel, Sylphiel's coming too!"

Looking towards his cousin, Zelgadis cocked his head, "What? Here?" David nodded. "Sneaky woman! Probably had to go home and change. Though what she was wearing was cute."

Lina blinked, pursing her light pink painted lips, then smiled, "Oh yeah, she's who you were sitting next to at the concert!" David nodded. "So that's who you're going out with." Lina laughed. "I saw that little interview you gave this afternoon. It's really creepy how your eye changes color though. Do you have control over that, or does it come and go? Like, with your mood?"

David shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. _"Mind if I tell her part of the truth?"_

"_Go ahead. She won't guess anyway."_

"Actually," David said, "I do have a little control over it, but mostly it just happens when I get stressed out."

Zelgadis huffed, "So you are doing it on purpose."

Laughing, David shook his head again, "Sometimes, like when that reporter started asking personal stuff."

"I hate it when they do that," Gourry gave his two cents, sounding semi-oblivious even though he did seem to know what the conversation was about. "I never know what to say!"

They stopped at a door and a man in a security uniform opened it. Lina finally let go of David's arm and stepped in, followed by Gourry, then David and Zelgadis. The room they entered was a small sitting room with a door on the other side. Heaving a sigh, Zelgadis flopped down on a chair and spread out sideways in it. "On the one hand," he stated, eyeing Lina, "I'm angry at you," he stated. "David's my best friend, and I'd be very upset if he were to have really died. On the other hand, he told me not to mess with you. Damn fool's too forgiving, if you ask me- what with these psychological issues with crossing streets now. You should at least pay for his bill."

"Look you!" Lina shoved her finger at Zelgadis's face, hand on her hip as she leaned forward, "I offered to pay him. I was willing to go up to five hundred thousand, but HE," she jabbed her finger at David, who was standing by the wall admiring one of the paintings, "told me not to bother."

Snorting, Zelgadis glanced towards David, eyes half lidded, "I know he did. He's predictable like that, and too nice to tell you where to shove it. As I was saying, since he said to lay off, I'm just telling you that I'm given to dislike you, but you hang out with Mr. Gabriev, who also happens to be a friend of Sylphiel's, so I won't have you strung up by your toenails." Gourry looked over from where he'd come to stand beside David, staring up at the painting.

"Ha!" Lina said and straightened, putting both her hands on her hips, "Listen to him! Acts as if he's royalty!"

Looking back as well, David called out, "Both you kids stop it," they looked towards him, "Honestly, there're more important things in the world than bitching about who's at fault for what and warring over who's got the bigger ego." Sighing, he muttered under his breath, "t'think that they're friends..." he shook his head and folded his arms.

Gourry peered over at him and blinked, "Yeah!" he said, adding his two cents, again, "I think you two would be great friends!"

Lina and Zelgadis exchanged looks and cringed, Lina slipped back a step. "Never!"

David snorted, closing his eyes, "And why not?" he looked back towards the redhead and opened his eyes, "We're friends, right?"

She paused, glancing aside, "I- well... if you want to consider me one," Lina replied slowly, ego deflated somewhat.

"I do," David nodded, "Accident's happen. It's not like you were aiming for me, and at least it was me instead of the little old lady that was a step behind me. She wouldn't have recovered from it, likely, and some little children would be out one grandmother."

Lina winced and glanced towards Zelgadis who was still refusing to look at her. Turning around, David strolled over to them and stood over Zelgadis, "Quit being childish, Zel. And if it makes you both feel better, you can go halfsies on my new car."

"New car?" Lina asked.

Zelgadis sighed, "He drives a rust bucket, and I don't know how it's still running. Not to forget that the back seat's a biohazard and the trunk is wired shut." Getting to his feet, he offered his hand out to Lina, "Fine, I was going to buy him one as it was, but this seems the better deal."

Pursing her lips, Lina stuck out her hand and clasped the guitar player's. "Alright, just nothing too expensive."

"Knowing David, he'll probably want a minivan."

Laughing, the programmer shook his head, "Actually, I've been thinking about it, and that four-door Toyota town car looks nice."

Thinking on that, Zelgadis let go of Lina's hand and retook his seat, just as the door behind him quietly opened. "That's a yacht on wheels, David, why not a Ferrari? Those are some sexy cars, and Sylphiel'd look damn hot in one."

David bit his lip and blushed, "Watch your mouth," he told the Rockstar.

Zelgadis sat up and looked back towards the door and let out a whistle. "Hey Sylphiel," he said.

Unclasping her hands from where they were clutched in front of her, Sylphiel lifted her head a little and smiled. Her hair was pulled up into a loose bun with curls falling on either side of her face, her body was clad in a sleeveless dark purple silk shirt with gold edging along the hems and a collar that was tall around her throat and split in the front, all the way down to her cleavage. The ends of her shirt came down to the widest point of her hips where it was split. Below that, she wore a pair of matching silk pants, also decorated with gold down the side seems and bottom hem. Her feet were clad in purple sandals with low heels. "Hello Mr. Zelgadis," she murmured and played shyly with one of the curls beside her face, ducking her head.

Beside her, wearing a dark gray business suit, was the mayor himself, his mid-brown hair combed back from his face and mustache neatly trimmed. Clearing his throat, David strode forward, "Ah, Good evening, sir," he said, taking hold of the situation with both sweaty palmed hands. "I- truly apologize for not meeting you before this. I'm David Graywords."

"Yes," the mayor said and held out his hand with a smile, "I've heard about you," he said, "from plenty of sources. You've been a bit busy, so it's forgivable." Gratefully, David took the man's hand and shook it.

Glancing towards Sylphiel, David smiled, "She didn't mention that you would be coming to the press conference as well, she just mentioned dinner tomorrow. Is that still on? I'd be glad to come."

Eruk nodded with a soft chuckle, "Yes, that's fine, and she didn't mention you were coming either."

"Ah, I wasn't until this afternoon," David replied and released the man's hand, "I was invited by Ms. Inverse, an attempt to repair her slightly damaged reputation."

Lina laughed nervously, "We've come to a good settlement of payment for damages," she explained. Stepping in further, Eruk strode across the room to shake her hand as well. Zelgadis got to his feet as Gourry left the painting and meandered over to Lina's side, he wore a suit of mid blue that nearly matched his eyes, his hair free and flowing down his back, his shirt was a rich cream, broken by his blue and white striped tie. Like David, he wore his jacket open, and after Lina shook the Mayor's hand, he did, followed by Zelgadis.

"Mr. Zelgadis," Eruk said, "I have to thank you for your contribution to the children's hospital. The funds we received from your concert far exceeded our highest hopes."

Relief melting down his spine, David stepped closer to Sylphiel and took her hands, "You little sneak!" he whispered, leaning close. She giggled coyly and stepped closer, putting her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek. In return, he nuzzled her neck and whispered, "You look beautiful." She blushed lightly as he let her go and took her hand instead. They joined the others just as the door at the other end of the room opened.

"Everything's set up," a man wearing a dark business suit announced, stepping back as Eruk led the procession into the next room. The room was large, and full of cameras and other recording equipment, every last one of them was pointed towards the long table with six microphones at it set up at the front of the room. Firmly, Sylphiel held onto David's hand, so he followed the rest of the group through the door, and upon reaching the table, pulled out a chair for Sylphiel and helped her into it as a gentleman from Rasmus's world would have. David took the seat at the end of the table beside Sylphiel, Zelgadis on her other side, seated beside the Mayor, with Lina beside him and Gourry beside her. Cameras began taking pictures the moment they appeared, and thankfully they had the flashes turned off. But they sounded rather like summer bugs to David and he found Sylphiel's hand again under the table as he settled in his seat and crossed his legs.

Casting a smile at him, she placed their linked hands on top of the table. Giving a shrug, David let her have her way, apparently it was okay to announce their relationship now that her father had met him, for Eruk made no negative motion. Once they were all settled, the first reporter asked a question, "Mr. Zelgadis, Mr. Gourry, is this sudden appearance together some sort of recognition of an agreement between the two of you?"

Gourry blinked and glanced up at the ceiling, then flashed a blinding grin, "Nah," he said simply.

Zelgadis smiled faintly, "No, I happened to be coincidental," he explained, "However, I do admire. Mr. Gabriev's talents and am glad that I was invited along."

"So what's the occasion?" someone else asked.

Lina sat forward slightly and cast a smile at the group, "Actually, I invited them," she admitted and looked sheepish as she continued, "As it was me who put Mr. David Graywords in the hospital. This is just to show that there's no hard feelings and that we're all friends."

Giving a nod, David cleared his throat, "Indeed, we've reached an agreement about the incident."

"So, Mr. Graywords, you're not pressing charges?"

Shaking his head, David smiled, "Why? I came out of it pretty good. So what's a little inconvenience as opposed to what I gained?"

"What _did_ you gain, Mr. Graywords, if I may ask?" these questions, though they came from different portions of the room, their sources were quite unidentifiable.

Glancing down the table, David shrugged a bit, "A new outlook on life, new friends," he glanced at Sylphiel who smiled shyly at him, "Not to forget a promotion and a very interesting challenge to work on."

Zelgadis snickered, "And the chance to sing with me," he added.

David nodded, "That too. But you claimed that was your birthday present."

Shrugging, Zel lounged back in his chair and smirked, "So I did," he agreed.

"Mr. Graywords, what sort of new outlook on life did you mean?" some woman asked.

Laughing softly, David glanced towards Lina, who didn't seem to mind that the attention wasn't completely on Gourry and replied, "Well..." He took a breath, "First, revenge is stupid. It just breeds more revenge, until finally, there's no one left to carry it on. Second, there's no way to replace anyone that's gone, be that through just finding someone new to inflict your feelings on, or crazy enough, through genetics." He somehow managed to keep his expression clear as he said that, "But the most important thing I learned is that it's better to take things as they come. If you screwed up and lived through it, take it as a learning experience, and otherwise... just try to have fun because who knows when something might happen. That's about it." Sylphiel smiled at him again and squeezed his hand.

"Mr. Gabriev," another voice called, "Do you plan on beating the world record of seventy-three homeruns in one season?"

Thinking hard on this, Gourry seemed confused for a long moment, but finally grinned, "I guess. I hadn't really thought about it till now. I just try to hit the balls as far as I can," he abruptly became serious, "Otherwise Lina'll hit me."

Lina blushed, and David found it very difficult not to snigger, so he bit his lips together and looked at Sylphiel, who shook her head at him, sending her sliver bar earrings swinging. "What do you mean? Are you afraid of Ms. Inverse?"

Gourry shook his head, "No, but you don't know what kind of woman she is."

"So are you two an item?"

Lina blushed bright pink, "No!" she said at the same time as Gourry replied, the same, only sounding a little more confused, "No? Um... why do you ask?"

Shaking her head, Lina spoke up, "No, we're just friends, only ... I'm his manager too." Gourry just smiled and nodded on cue.

"Mayor Raada, are you going for re-election this term?"

Taking a breath, Eruk replied, "I shall, indeed, try for another term, though my opponent is a worthy one. I hope that the best man, or woman in this case, wins."

Zelgadis sat forward, smiling slightly, his eyes half lidded, as was his usual expression when playing the superstar, "Ms. Yomez-" he murmured, "Ah, yes, that is you. I believe you had a question for me earlier today?"

The poor reporter woman blushed brightly, "Ah- um... Yes..." she stammered, "I merely wanted to clear up some rumors about your uh... age and ... marital status."

Sitting back again, Zelgadis replied evenly. "I'm twenty four, Cancer, type AB blood, born on July twenty-first, at the moment, I'm single, however, I've had my eye on a few ladies who will go unnamed. And by the way, both David and myself are only children, our fathers were brothers."

"_David... something's moving,"_ Rasmus murmured.

Glancing aside, David let his eyes fall half closed, _"Is it the same thing from before? That demon?"_

"_No..."_ this time, David felt the movement, almost as if the ground were undulating, except no one else seemed to notice anything. David opened his eyes and looked at Sylphiel when he felt her grip on his hand suddenly tighten. Her face had gone pale. A look on the other side saw a somewhat shocked expression on Lina's face, and Zelgadis looked a mite ill. Everyone else in the room seemed just fine. Gourry was still cheerfully explaining something about baseball, and the media people were distracted. _"No, that's no Mazoku. That's something even bigger,"_ Rasmus continued just before the world rolled again. This was followed by the sound of something hitting the floor in the next room and the microphones squealed with feedback.

Hurriedly, someone cut them off and David leaned over to whisper to Sylphiel, "This is something magical, Rasmus says it's big. Get your dad to get everyone out of the building." He let go of her hand, and she nodded and stumbled to her feet and rushed over to her father, swiftly whispering something to him.

Eruk nodded and stood. "Ladies and gentlemen-" he didn't get the chance to say more, for another wave hit and this time more substantial objects began vibrating, one of the microphones falling off the table with a clatter. Whatever it was had been enough to be felt by the people in the room. "Ladies and gentlemen," Eruk tried again, "I think we should all evacuate the building," he told them, "Please, leave your cameras and equipment, those can be replaced, but as Mr. Graywords said earlier, people can't." He stepped around the table and headed for the door, Sylphiel following behind. David stood and caught up with them at the door, Zelgadis catching his arm on the other side, and clinging as the ground vibrated again. He looked sick.

"David- you know what that is?" he asked, accidentally loud enough for Eruk to hear and he stopped.

Shaking his head, David helped steady Zelgadis and said, "No, but it scares the hell out of me. Lets get out of here." Lina and Gourry came stumbling through the door behind them and shut it. Together, they worked their way across the room to the other door where they were surrounded by security, and in something close to a hurry, they made their way down the hall and out into the lobby. The media people hadn't quite assembled, there were some who were desperately trying to gather their equipment, but others had taken the mayor on his word and had just grabbed their cameras and recordings of what had happened so far and were heading for the large glass doors and out into the street.

Again, the ground rumbled just as they got out onto the steps, into a din of car alarms and barking dogs. Animals that were loose within the city were fleeing in a flood of furry bodies, cats next to dogs, next to squirrels and other rodents. Snakes slithered along underfoot, and behind them came the bugs. David stepped close to Sylphiel and tucked her under his coat as the flying creatures went past in a thunderous rush, followed by the crawlies. She whimpered softly. "They're not gonna stay long enough to hurt you," David told her gently and she buried her head further under his coat. Lina had climbed Gourry and was practically wrapped around his head; the other squeamish women had found a compliant male to attach themselves to. Lifting his voice, David called to the mayor. "Mr. Raada, I think they've got the better idea about things. We should run!" Ducking his head down again, David whispered to Sylphiel, "Make him run, love, I... have to stay. I don't know what it is but-"

Abruptly, Rasmus took over, his eye flaring yellow immediately. "But whatever it is, it's threatening MY city and I'm not going to stand for it." Fearfully, Sylphiel looked up at Rasmus. For a long moment, she stared at him, as if not recognizing him, then, her eyes softened and she nodded.

"I understand, Rasmus," she said softly, "Please come back. Both of you, come back."

Softening his own tone, Rasmus caressed her hair gently, "I will... Sylphiel... I love you. Okay? We both do." She lifted her head and kissed him lightly.

"Okay," she agreed. "I love you too."

The bugs had gone past and finally, Eruk called, "Let's follow their lead." Sylphiel hadn't had to beg him to do anything. As one, they turned and set off after the other creatures of the city, those who had cars easily accessible climbed in and took as many passengers as they could. David let go of Sylphiel with one last smile towards her, and took off his coat, handing it and his tie to her.

Her eyes watering, she put them both on, and Rasmus laughed softly, "You look silly like that," he told her and touched her cheek. "I'll take care of David. You take care of yourself. Keep near Zelgadis, he can at least revive people's energy if you tell him David said to go ahead and do it... tell him to experiment with it if he has the time and figure out how to make it heal people, and if he can, teach you too. If you have to tell him about me, go ahead. Go now."

"David!" Zelgadis paused, looking back, only to have Sylphiel run into him. "Wait- no- David!"

Desperately, Sylphiel pulled his arm, "Zelgadis," she gasped, tears finally leaking free. "He promised to come back, Okay, let him go do what he has to! He's probably the only one who can save us. Come on! He'll be distracted if we're not safe."

A howl split the air, and as one, they looked up at the sky, their eyes focusing on the crown of Flagoon as it writhed in a strange wind. "The tree- Flagoon will protect us," Sylphiel said with a certainty and started running again.

Zelgadis looked back towards where David had been standing seconds ago, only to see the barest wisp of fog that was quickly disappearing. "..." He shook his head and turned, dashing after Sylphiel. "Damn it!" he hissed, "completely ineffectual!"


	11. Broken Shards

Dressed in their usual garments, the whole group stood in one of the lab rooms of the Sairaag Copy and Chimera Research University, though they'd had a bit of trouble at the door. The school officials hadn't wanted Lina Inverse anywhere in the city, let alone in their new building. After a threat of Dragon Slaving the building from afar if they wouldn't let her in, they acceded to her request and opened the door. The room was large enough to hold fifty people in the stadium seating arrangement. Down at the front, where the teacher usually lectured was a cleared area with a sealed square carved into the floor tiles, in the center of which was a table, and on that table, the strange statue.

The professor that they had been put in contact with- a pudgy little elderly man with thick glasses and a squint despite- was the head of the department of Artifact Studies. He was a knowledgeable old fart, apparently one of Rezo's old students. Tittering to himself, he bustled this way and that around the table, looking at the strange statue from all angles. "Hmmm, I see... I seee..." he murmured.

Lina and the others were arranged at the edge of the carving on the floor, the redhead leaning against the front row table with her arms crossed. Gourry was seated at a chair slightly to her right, so he could see, even if he wasn't all that interested and Sylphiel sat beside him. Zelgadis sat on the table further to Lina's left with Amelia standing behind the table to his left, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. "You see WHAT, old man?" Lina fumed.

Blinking, the old man, Professor Gasp, adjusted his glasses on his large round nose, "Ah? Oh, yes," he mumbled, as if he'd forgotten they were there, "Right. Well, this statue appears to be the style of a famous sculptor Gain Flardy- of about a thousand years ago, who wasn't really known for making anything exceptionally beautiful, but for creating statuary for the specific purpose of sealing things within them. He wasn't a mage himself, but he was friends with a lot of them."

Zelgadis shifted, "So, you're saying something is sealed in that thing?"

Professor Gasp nodded, his second chin flapping, "Yes, yes!" he agreed, "Exactly so!"

"So what's sealed in it?" Lina asked, scowling, her patience wearing incredibly thin.

Coughing behind his fist, Professor Gasp looked aside- towards the statue, "I really can't tell, but these," he pointed at the metal chimes, "are seal amplifiers, very powerful ones." He paused, "However, one of them is cracked."

Lina looked at her finger, "Is it the leftmost one on that arm?" she asked, pointing.

The pudgy man nodded, "Yes, actually. It seems, even though the item was sealed within that box, the destruction of Rezo's lab released a lot of magical energy and cracked the amplifier."

"What is this?" hissed a voice from the door, and the group looked up to find Dean Magus standing silhouetted in the light from the windows directly across the hall from the door.

Fluttering, Professor Gasp wrung his hands, "Oh- oh, Dean! Perhaps you could answer our questions?"

Striding into the room and down the steps that led all the way to the front of the room, the Dean took a breath, obviously fuming, "Absolutely not!" he hissed, coming to a stop in front of the table upon which the statue sat. "Who brought this here?" he demanded, turning to look at the group, "You? Where did you find it?"

Zelgadis seemed the only one not effected by the Dean's anger and stated, "It's my inheritance, along with everything else that was in Rezo's labs," the Chimera stated firmly, scowling right back at the Dean.

"I'm afraid not, young sir," Dean Magus snapped, "This item is far too dangerous to simply leave sitting around in the open- damaged as it is. I am confiscating it."

Lina leapt forward, fear of the strange man quickly overcome in her anger, "Hey! You can't do that! We're not under your command, and anything we bring here doesn't belong to you!"

Dean Magus whirled on her in a flurry of gray robes, a gnarled finger pointed at her nose, stopping her from going any further. "On the contrary. You brought something very dangerous into my school, threatening the lives of my students and teachers here, as well as everyone in the city! I think it only fair to take it and place it where it will be safe." Turning, he swept the statue up, cradling it in his long sleeve and carried it from the room before anyone could say another word.

"Hey!" Lina shouted, "Come back here before I Dragon Slave you!"

Jumping to their feet and over the table, Gourry and Amelia restrained Lina. That didn't stop Zelgadis, though, and he marched up the steps after the Dean. "Lemme GO!" Lina howled in fury, flailing and kicking. "NO one steals stuff from ME!"

Zelgadis had gotten to the hall, and their limited view of the doorway only allowed them to see him step out of the room, and get mobbed by several dark shapes. Another man entered- a very large man, "The Dean has requested that you leave the premises immediately," he told the group. He stalked in a few steps further and behind him came several other large men who firmly laid meaty hands upon Lina, Gourry, and Amelia. Sylphiel stood, only to have a hand placed on her shoulder as well.

"Wait!" the shrine maiden gasped, "Wait! Does this mean... I'm... fired?" She looked up imploringly at the man who seemed to be in charge of the guards.

He nodded, "Afraid so, Miss Raada. Please go without a fight?"

Tears in her eyes, Sylphiel pulled away from the guard standing over her and dashed from the room. Lina continued to seethe, but settled down so as to walk out on her own, keeping what dignity she had left intact. The others followed behind and found that Sylphiel had disappeared down the street and the door boomed shut behind them.

"I'm NOT gonna take this," Lina fumed. "Zel, you with me?"

Zelgadis, though unharmed physically his ego had been bruised, looked at her. "If you mean what I think you are, then yes."

Amelia clenched a Fist, "I'm coming too," she stated, "Stealing is Wrong!"

"But... oh never mind," Lina flipped a hand. "Let's go find Sylphiel?" Gourry stared around in confusion, but followed behind as the other three took off down the street.

* * *

In the end, Sylphiel had eluded their capture, and so Lina sat at the shrine maiden's dining table with her other three companions, and spread across the table was a map of the building, as drawn by Zelgadis. Lina's artistic talent wasn't up to the task, and so she'd gladly given it to Zel. "So, we think the Dean's office is here," she stated, pointing at a corner room of the map, "And all the classrooms are on this side of the building," she added, going by what she remembered of their short tour through the halls. "And the labs are over here," she pointed at the opposite wing of the building.

Amelia leaned forward, "But what's in this section?" she asked, pointing at the third wing that went straight back from the front doors of the building.

"That's probably the dormitory," Zelgadis stated, "Students living there if they're not old enough to have places of their own in town." The princess nodded.

Gourry scratched the back of his head and frowned slightly, "But where would he put that statue?" he asked the obvious.

Lina didn't bother slapping him, since it was still a good question, "Well, I figure we'll start in the Dean's office."

"What about Sylphiel?" Gourry asked, "She won't know where we went."

Smiling, Lina held out a piece of paper, "Got that covered!"

Taking the paper, Amelia read it, "Well, I guess it works," she said.

Zelgadis snagged the paper and read aloud, "Dear Sylphiel, gone to get my statue back. Love Lina? Lina... do I need to point out that it's not yours?"

Flapping a hand dismissively, Lina smiled at him. "If you say so Zel," she said and turned her attention back to their map. "Alright. I don't see much of a way to get in without causing a fuss, so I say we go straight in through this window."

Amelia shook her head, "There's a kitchen, right? There should be a back door on that. I think it would cause less noise if we slipped in through there and snuck through the student's wing."

"I agree," Zelgadis stated.

"Ooorrr... I could just teleport you in."

Shrieking, Lina jumped and spun around to find Xelloss seated on the counter top behind her, sipping tea. "Hey! When did you get here?"

Smiling cheerfully, the Mazoku lifted a finger, "Just now," he answered. "But I heard enough to know what you're up to, Miss Lina."

Folding his arms, Zelgadis leaned against the table with one hip, "And why are you volunteering to help?"

Laughing, Xelloss waggled his finger, "That's a secret," he stated casually, as if they should have known.

"Well, I for one, don't trust him," Zelgadis stated firmly, "Amelia and I will find our own way in." Amelia nodded her agreement, then blinked, looking at him. However, she didn't object to being named as Zel's accomplice, she was going to volunteer to go with him anyway.

Lina eyed Zel for a second, then looked back at Xelloss. "Do you know where the Dean's keeping that thing?"

Opening his eyes slightly, Xelloss's expression became gravely serious. "No. The statue is no concern to me. My orders have nothing to do with it." Once more, he smiled, "You're just convenient."

Giving a nod, Lina replied, "Well, that's good enough for me. Zel, Amelia, you'll come with us, since Xelloss's teleporting us in won't cause any alarms to go off." This overruling made Zelgadis scowl, but Amelia didn't object to it either.

"She's probably right, Mr. Zelgadis," she said softly, "They might have guards on the kitchen door and in the dormitory hall, someone to keep the kids in bed at night and knocking them out might cause noise that would wake the children." Zelgadis looked away, but made no more protests.

Nodding once more, Lina looked back at Xelloss, "Alright. Can you teleport us into the Dean's lab?"

Smiling cheerfully, Xelloss stated, "No." But before Lina could throw anything at him, he raised a finger and added, "But I can teleport you in to his office. Wasn't that where you wanted to go in the first place?" He leaned forward slightly and smirked at her.

"Yeah but-" Lina started.

Xelloss hopped off the counter, his teacup disappearing from his left hand. Reaching out, he laid a hand upon Lina's head. Predictably, Gourry reached out to grab the back of her cloak. His other hand grabbed Zelgadis's shoulder, Amelia latched onto his other arm, and in a flash of black and the sound of cloth tearing, they disappeared.

* * *

"Aah! Oomf! Ouch, Zel, get off me... can't breathe!"

"..."

"Mr. Gourry! Hands off!"

"Sorry Amelia."

Sorting themselves out at last, Zelgadis dusted his clothes off and scowled around the dark unfamiliar room. Xelloss was nowhere in sight. The light was lit by light streaming in through one window, casting strange shadows from the objects on the desk that sat beneath it. The floor was covered with a thick layer of carpet that had, thankfully, muffled the sound of their collapsing in a pile in the center of the empty office. "Least he got our destination right," the Chimera muttered.

Amelia pushed her hair back from her face and ran her hands through it to put it back in order as she looked around the room. "Yeah," she agreed, peeking out the window, "We're in the university anyway."

Lina placed her hands on her hips, "Which was our goal in the first place. So, let's get to searching!" Turning, she went to the desk and started pulling out drawers, dumping them on the floor where she could sort through their contents. "Someone pull the shades."

Reaching over, Gourry snagged the shade down, "Got it," he said, Amelia pulled down the shade on the other window. Crouching, Gourry peered down at the pile of papers and pencils as well as candy wrappers that littered the floor now. "Looks like the Dean's got a sweet tooth," he observed, picking up a wrapper and looking at it as Lina cast a lighting spell. "Hey... I don't recognize this brand... What's it say, Lina?"

Looking up, Lina squinted at the gold colored wrapper, then reached out to snatch it from his hand and turn it over. "Werthers Caramel Candy?" she read out loud, "I don't recognize that one either."

Zelgadis looked over as well, watching as the redhead pulled out another drawer and dumped it on the floor. "Ah, here's the rest of the bag," Lina said, "What kind of material is this?" she asked, crinkling the bag. This caught Zelgadis's attention, and he stepped over to crouch near Lina.

"Clear, but firm," he muttered, crinkling one of the wrappers. "It is strange, but not our main mission." He stood again, and turned, heading over to the bookshelf, pulling books off and tossing them aside when their titles were nothing more than texts concerning the school. He stopped, however, when he came across a thick book whose leather cover flaked off as he picked it out of the shelf. Opening it carefully, Zelgadis's eyes widened, "He's been in the ruins!"

Looking over, silence fell, Lina and Gourry with suspicious lumps in their cheeks. "What?" the sorceress asked, voice semi-muffled.

Turning, Zelgadis displayed the book, "One of Rezo's diaries," he stated, "He kept these in his lab. I remember seeing this one when Amelia and I ended up in the library."

Getting to her feet, Lina came over to the bookshelf to take the book from Zelgadis, looking at the cover, "Definitely been blasted by magic," Lina observed. The Chimera had turned away already, though, and gone back to pulling out books from the shelf.

"What could he want in the ruins?" Amelia asked from where she'd been inspecting the filing cabinets near the second window in the corner behind the desk. A thump and bang from the hall brought a moment of silence to the group, and Lina doused her light. Rattling at the doorknob, made them hold their breaths, and the lock clicked. "We're going to be found!" Amelia hissed.

Zelgadis knelt, reaching into the bookshelf once more, "I thought so!" He pulled something and there was a click and thump. The bookshelf swung out. "Get in!" he hissed and Amelia slipped through the opening without asking. Lina dragged Gourry afterwards and Zelgadis slid in, pulling the wall shut behind him just as the door opened.

"Is someone in here?" was the muffled voice from outside and the group stood uncertainly in the dark.

Amelia flailed a hand out, finally catching long hair and pulled lightly. "Ouch-" Lina's voice, Amelia put her hand over Lina's mouth and leaned close to whisper.

"There's stairs just behind us." Carefully, Amelia took her hand from Lina's mouth. "They lead down."

Nodding, Lina caught Gourry again and turned to whisper to Zelgadis what Amelia had told her. He didn't answer, but his turning around was answer enough. So they were agreed. Carefully, Lina slid her foot forward in the pitch darkness, one hand on the wall, the other on Gourry's arm and stepped down the first step. Amelia and Zelgadis followed silently behind. Gourry stumbled, but was caught by the Chimera, and they proceeded down.

"I think, we're far enough down now that we can risk a light," Lina whispered loudly enough for them to hear her and as one, her three companions shielded their eyes. The light spell was uncommonly bright after the pitch darkness, and they found themselves in a narrow hall that led down sharply in narrow stairs. Above, the stairs disappeared into the darkness; the same sight met them below.

Stepping forward, Lina started down the stairs again, letting go of Gourry, but keeping her hand on the wall. "Odd, we were on the second floor," she whispered, "This has to be going down between the classroom below his office and the next one."

Amelia shivered, "It's really steep," she observed, "It'd be safer if we just levitated down to the bottom."

Nodding, Lina agreed heartily, and Lina took Gourry onto her back. Blushing, the redhead removed his hand from her breast, and refrained from yelling at him by sheer willpower. The other two cast their own spells. Beneath them, the stairs flew past in a near blur, and there seemed to be no end to the dark stairs. "How far does this go down!" Lina growled, keeping her voice low for fear of echoes.

"We must be nearly a hundred feet underground by now," Zelgadis replied. Silence fell again, just in time for the end of the stairs to come into view. "Well, ask and ye shall receive?" he concluded as they landed, Lina dumping Gourry to the ground before setting down.

The bottom of the stairs led out into a short hallway that ended abruptly at a door. "Oh great, this looks rather familiar," Lina muttered, eyeing the door and the stairs.

Amelia shivered, "But we're not being chased by Eris and Kopii Rezo this time. So it's okay..."

"We hope," Zelgadis finished for her. She winced, and hadn't intended to cast such a depressive pall on the situation.

Shaking her head, Lina ignored them both and hopped off Gourry's stomach, allowing him to get to his feet while she strode over to the door, placed her hands upon it and slowly inspected. "I don't think there's any traps on it," she told them, quietly, "But keep your voices down. I don't know how thick it is either."

Nodding their agreement, they watched as Lina pushed on the door gently. A click... it swung open on silent hinges. Lina's lighting spell spilled through the crack, illuminating a widening stretch across a clean floor, a table with lab equipment sparkling on it, and a single chair. Pushing the door open further, Lina stepped in, Gourry drawing his sword beside her, Zelgadis doing the same. The room appeared to be a Chimera lab, well kept, and recently used. By silent agreement, they spread out, Lina heading right with Gourry and Zelgadis taking the left with Amelia casting a second lighting spell. The room was a wide rectangle, just large enough that one lighting spell in the center of the room would have left the corners in faint shadow. The left wall beside the door was dedicated to bookshelves, and Zelgadis looked them over, frowning, "Most of these came from Eris's lab," he observed, "A few are Rezo's though. All of them ones I've read." With that verified, he moved after Amelia as she continued towards the next wall. Oddly enough, heavy canvas blinds covered this wall, faint light glowing from beneath, and Zelgadis reached out, pulling the cord. The blinds swept aside.

"Cephied!" Amelia gasped, stepping back, staring in fascinated horror at the tanks of liquid that were lit from above. Within the four chambers floated bodies- nude, but far too deformed to be seen as anything other than abominations, but the violet hair that floated lightly in the liquid- not all of it on the creature's heads- made their origin unmistakable.

Scowling, and stepping closer to her, Zelgadis's hand touched her back lightly, "Copies of a copy," he told her, "they're dead. They don't look bad enough to have died on their own. They were killed."

Amelia's eyes watered and finally she turned away, "How could... someone make things like that, and then just kill them?"

Reaching over, Zelgadis pulled the curtain, "Neither Eris nor Rezo were sane," he pointed out. She wiped her eyes and managed a smile up at Zelgadis, but only briefly. Instead of answering she turned to inspect the contents of the table that stood nearby.

"It looks like he was either trying to bring them back, or copy them again," Amelia said softly.

Coming to stand beside her, Zelgadis nodded, fingering the page of an open book nearby, "Looks like it," he agreed.

"Hey," Lina called softly as she approached, "what'd you guys find over here?"

Looking up, Zelgadis nominated himself to answer, "Dean Magus has been trying to resurrect four of Kopii Rezo's copies. Probably for their knowledge on magic."

"Or their knowledge of where Rezo's lab was," Lina stated, "We found test equipment on the other side, as well as a few things I remember seeing in Rezo's lab. Magus probably picked them up and has been looking for where the majority of the stuff fell after Kopii blew the place up. He's probably been 'confiscating' stuff for years now."

Amelia clenched a fist, fire burning in her eyes, "Well, he picked the wrong person this time!" she stated firmly.

"Hey Lina," Gourry called from across the room. "I found a door!"

The other three winced as his voice echoed, however, they left the desk and headed to join Gourry where he stood at the center of the back wall of the room. The door was quite obvious, and likely one of the others would have found it eventually, but Gourry grinned cheerfully at his being helpful. Lina let him keep his illusions. Amelia doused her light as Lina pushed the door open, Gourry and Zelgadis ready with sword and spell right behind her. The room beyond was brightly lit, and as they opened the door further, the group found that it was empty, except for Magus and the statue, standing in the center of a large amplification circle.

Running in, Lina dropped her lighting spell and began collecting energy for a fireball, "Magus! You dirty rat, give it back!"

Turning in a swirl of gray robes, Magus faced them, a look of shock on his face. "You! How did you get in here?"

"We had a little help," Lina admitted, "Now, give us the statue!"

Laughing, the Dean threw his head back, cackling, "I think not!" he said, abruptly recovering from his maniacal mirth. "you see, I've already broken most of the seals on it, there's only one left, and then, I will control the Demonbeast Garadaar and NONE shall stop me!"

Stomping a foot forward, Amelia shook a fist, "Ohhhh! I knew you were evil, the first time I saw you!" Levering a finger at him, she continued, "And since you're evil, I'll have no choice but to destroy you!"

Lina growled, unable to get a shot off while he was standing beside the statue. She couldn't just destroy it now. "How did you break the seals, Magus?" she asked, snidely, "You're hardly more than third rate."

Magus looked vaguely amused, "How do you plan to do that?" he challenged Amelia. Reaching into his sleeve, he brought out a shimmering gem. "I used this!" he held it aloft triumphantly, "I thought it was a scrying gem, but all my attempts to use it as such simply disturbed the fabric of reality, opening the door into another world. A world I will cross into and conquer after I've taken this one. However, it was your inquiries into the Mirror Breaker, Mr. Graywords, that gave me the clue I needed to find this item's TRUE power."

"That's the Mirror Breaker?" Zelgadis asked, shifting his stance, "Hand it over!"

Once more, Magus cackled and turned towards the statue and held the crystal clear glob of angles above his head. The gem flashed white, then black and an arc of lightning shot up from the statue, the chimes rang, out of key, and shattered completely. Wind rose in the chamber as the statue began disintegrating, the pieces swirling up to be absorbed by the Mirror Breaker. "FIREBALL!" Lina cast her spell and watched in horror as it never made it to its destination. The fireball's path twisted, and darted towards the Mirror Breaker, where it was absorbed. "Damn! Magic's not going to work. Gourry, get him!" Drawing her own sword, Lina followed after her bodyguard, Amelia and Zelgadis pelting close behind.

The last piece of the statue shattered and the force of it knocked them all back into the walls, including Magus. He impacted the wall hard, the Mirror Breaker striking the stone hard, and shattering in another blast of magic that briefly squashed the other four occupants of the room to the floor. The old man slid down the wall to fall limp and unmoving, blood seeping out of his nose.

"Look!" Gourry shouted, pointing as the light abruptly flickered and died. A new source of light appeared, located over the spot where the statue had stood. Slowly, something vaguely spider shaped began to form, small as a rock, but quickly growing larger as the wind changed in the room, sucking towards it. "Lina! We should get out of here!" Gourry shouted over the wind and reached out, catching his sorceress as she began sliding across the floor. Zelgadis grabbed Amelia around the waist and headed for the door, since he was nearest, hauling the princess with him. It wasn't until he was halfway across the room that he realized that his current hold on her had placed his hand firmly on her breast. She hadn't complained, though, even after he gave a light squeeze just to make sure that her breast was indeed what he had hold of. Blushing, he didn't even pause, but ran for the stairs and cast a levitation spell.

Behind him, Gourry came pelting out with Lina in his arms holding a lighting spell. Though he couldn't cast Levitation, he took the stairs four at a time and easily caught up with Zelgadis. "On no," Amelia gasped, "That thing's going to destroy the school! All those children!" her eyes watered.

Lina closed her eyes, "It wasn't our fault," she stated firmly, as if trying to convince herself, "He broke the seal on his own." No one chose to argue with her on that score, and Zelgadis turned in his levitation spell, tucked his head down and rammed the door at the top of the stairs with his back, Amelia protected beneath his cloak.

They burst in on a group of guards who turned to face them. "Run!" Lina shouted at them, "Magus just summoned a Demonbeast!" That was all the time she had to warn them as Zelgadis crashed through the opposite window, followed by Gourry, who simply leapt to the ground, and tucked Lina close as he rolled to take the impact, then got to his feet to start running once more.

Alarms went off throughout the building and Lina looked up at the window they'd escaped through to find people leaning out of it and shouting at them. Then a light burst upwards, glowing past the people, and abruptly, that corner of the building burst outwards as the Demonbeast made an exit for itself. It wasn't much larger than a small shack as of yet, but it was growing larger by the second, a terrible wind whipping across the city, picking up anything that was loose enough to fly. Pets and stray animals as well as carts and pieces of houses took flight and Zelgadis, pulled Amelia up from where he'd had her tucked against his hip. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, face tucked against his neck, "Oh Zelgadis- I'm scared," she whispered, clinging to him.

Taking a breath, Zel made sure his hold on her was secure even as he answered, "It's alright. If Shabranigdu and Darkstar can't kill us, then nothing can."

Softly, she laughed, lifting her face somewhat, "Yeah, you're right," she agreed, managing to smile and moved to pick something out of his hair as he dodged flying debris.

Glancing at her face, Zelgadis eyed that mischievous spark in her eyes, but... didn't feel it was worth commenting on, knowing that if he asked her straight out whether she was just giving him an ego boost she'd deny it. He sighed, finding that he really didn't mind anyway, he'd gotten to feel her up for free.

With a flash and blast of air that knocked Zelgadis off-course and spiraling towards the ground, the Demonbeast fully appeared. It hung in the sky high above the height of Flagoon, a strange creature with a two-segmented body, six legs, a pair of pincers, and a finned scorpion tail. Amelia managed to cast a Levitation spell to augment his own, and they stabilized, and landed beside where Gourry and Lina had collapsed. They were still in town, but the Demonbeast hadn't begun destroying anything, yet.

"What were you two doing up there!" Lina demanded, "Making out? Come on!" she was on her feet once more, running through the streets, "We've got to find a way to get it out from over the city!"

Amelia and Zelgadis blushed and refrained from looking at each other... directly. Zel looked away as his eyes met Amelia's when she peeked up at him. Lina had already gotten some distance away, Gourry pelting after her. "Hurry up you guys!" Lina howled, voice echoing in the empty street.

Windows had begun opening, people looking out in wonder at the strange creature hanging in the sky. Panic began setting in, and people started to stream from their houses into the streets, running in a terrified rush. To where, they didn't know, but Lina had to grab Gourry once more, and they took to the sky to avoid the madness below. "Look! It's moving!" Gourry pointed from where he hung by his armpits in Lina's grip.

Indeed, the Demonbeast was moving- somewhat sideways, as if it were sliding down a steep slope, moving faster as it went, gaining momentum. It flailed, scrabbling at the air, apparently in panic, and let out a loud howl, a line of white light blasting from its mandible mouth in a diagonal across the city. Explosions followed and the screams of panic rose up into the air deafeningly. Lina bit her lower lip.

Abruptly, Xelloss appeared beside them, Sylphiel in his arms, kicking and screaming at the top of her lungs. "Put me down!"

Grinning, the Mazoku loosened his grip, "Alright, if you say so!"

The shrine maiden looked down and shrieked even louder, latching her arms around Xelloss's neck, tight enough to choke him. "Xelloss!" Lina shouted, "What're you doing?"

Freeing a hand, the Mysterious Priest pulled Sylphiel's arms loose enough to gasp a lung full of air and replied, "The world is unbalanced," he shouted at her, over the din of panic below, and Sylphiel's continued wailings. "Garadaar is drifting into the Other Side."

"Other Side?" Amelia asked as she glided slightly below Lina and Gourry, with Zelgadis to her right above her, "What do you mean?"

Ahead, another shot of light, this time from the direction of the area where Kopii Rezo had cast his overpowered Mega Brunt on the city. A pillar of light, flashed towards the sky, widening as the demonbeast began sliding into it. Garadaar fired another shot, slicing across the ruins of Sairaag this time, and whatever damage it caused didn't include human life, or so Lina hoped.

"It's getting away," Lina fumed.

Xelloss smiled and appeared between the three of them, grabbed Lina's cloak with one hand, Zel's in the other, and planted a foot on Amelia's head while Sylphiel shrieked and clung to his neck. "Oh no it's not!"

Darkness and Light flashed past.


	12. Invitation

Rasmus stepped out of his teleport spell, which manifested itself as a bank of fog that he'd simply stepped into when no one was looking, and emerged in David's apartment. Immediately, he kicked off his shoes and grabbed up a blanket and threw it over the bar that held up the curtains. Calling upon his power, he wove a frame along the edges of the blanket, then ripped apart reality between what the blanket truly led to, which was the surface of a fuzzy piece of bedding, and made it lead into Rezo's pocket dimension. Well... Rasmus's Rezo.

Reaching into it, he first pulled out some better clothes for fighting in, followed by his two green gemstone talisman that he could use to amplify his power. Lastly, he pulled out a staff, in case it came to physical fighting. Quickly, he redressed in the loose white pants, bound around his shins by tall white boots, his shirt was belted around his waist and finally, his cloak was clasped on by the two emerald talisman with knee length priest ribbons hanging from them.

Taking up his staff, Rasmus breathed, "Ready, David?"

"_As I'll ever be. Just don't get us killed."_

Nodding, Rasmus ripped reality again and stepped through the fog, "I promised Sylphiel, and any promise I make to her I'm gonna keep." He emerged on the roof of the apartment building, but it wasn't very tall and thus, his field of vision was limited. Below him, people were fleeing- unsure of what they were running from, except that something had caused everything less intelligent to suddenly up and head out in one giant mass towards Flagoon. Most people were heading towards Flagoon too. Rasmus turned and peered in that direction, barely able to see the tall tree waving in a breeze that almost looked as if it were thrashing to draw the people's attention to it. Rasmus kicked off the roof of the building and took to the air, gliding to a taller vantage point, aware that he was quite visible in his all white garb despite the streetlights. People were stopping to stare and point at the flying man. "Idiots," Rasmus muttered.

Closing his eyes, Rasmus took a moment to look around, finding that... indeed, the tree was calling them, drawing them towards it. It had a hook in David too, but it wasn't pulling on them. _"It knows," _David murmured, _"It knows we have the power to fix this."_

"Indeed you do."

Turning, Rasmus scowled, "Mazoku."

Floating casually beside him was the Mazoku he'd seen earlier, only this time dressed as a priest in a yellow shirt with a matching sash, black pants, dark purple cloak with a silver clasp studded with rubies. In his hand was a staff with a branched end, a large red orb clasped in the strange twist of the wood. His eyes were closed and he was smiling an infuriatingly knowing smile. "Why, yes! How did you guess!" the Mazoku asked sarcastically, then bowed. "You may call me Xelloss, the Mysterious Priest."

"OR I could call you shit and tell you to go away before I destroy you," Rasmus replied sourly. "I don't deal with monsters."

Xelloss smiled again, "Oh, but you do need me. You need me." Abruptly, the Mazoku disappeared and Rasmus swung his staff down into the air the astral being had occupied with a melodic clang of the rings on the end.

"Piece of shit! If there's one thing I learned from Rezo it's to never deal with monsters!" Rasmus shouted, then turned, closing his eyes. The only astral activity in the area was Flagoon's, all else was either obscured or not there at all, and Rasmus frowned. Even that Mazoku had disappeared from his detection, "Xelloss... Beastmaster's General and Priest," he muttered, remembering where he'd heard that name before. "How the hell did HE get here!" Rasmus snapped.

The world twisted again, the building beneath Rasmus's feet feeling almost like it had turned to sand under him and his balance was too far off to cast a levitation spell again while i_t_ moved. All he could do was cling to the radio antenna that was bolted to the top of the building. Closing his eyes once more, Rasmus searched the sky, the horizon, and the ground for good measure with his astral senses. He focused all his attention on looking, trying to see _through_ the buildings, if he could. There were people still in them, people huddled together in fear, but even as he watched, sirens went off all over the city. Some of the people began moving, most of them, but still some stayed. The streets were about cleared by now, except for the new flood of escapees.

"Maybe they can't get out?" David suggested. "The people in the Hospital wouldn't be able to move."

"I'd have to blow holes in their houses, David. I don't know what their homes look like to teleport in," Rasmus answered, but that didn't mean he had to like the answer. "I'll...just have to make sure the city doesn't get destroyed," he stated firmly and finally the movement stopped. He still hadn't found the source.

Opening his eyes, Rasmus took off into the air again, his clothes and hair pulled in every direction by a sudden wind that sprang up, lifting the arm not holding his staff, Rasmus tried to shield his eyes. It was a good thing he had.

A blast of wind followed by a pillar of light in the center of town flung Rasmus back quite a ways before he caught himself and found somewhere to set down, perching atop the roof of a radio station as he squinted at the light, cloak and ribbons flailing behind him in a wind that was definitely magic born. "Rei Wing!" he cast and launched again, fighting the wind. Below him, anything that wasn't tied down began moving, some being light enough to be picked up by the wind and sent into his path. He dodged as best he could, but was glad he'd cast a Rei Wing instead of a simple Levitation when a garbage can hit his shield. The spell cracked a little, and his flight faltered, but Rasmus continued on, feeling David 'peering' over his shoulder in concern.

Slowly, he made headway towards the pillar of light, only to suddenly find all resistance gone, followed by blinding light as the pillar pulsed and expanded outwards. Unable to see in either the physical or astral plane, Rasmus spiraled downwards and landed hard on something flat and covered in gravel. _"Should have brought my sunglasses,"_ David muttered with twenty/twenty hindsight.

"Seriously," Rasmus agreed sourly and pushed himself to his hands and knees, blinking the spots from his vision. "Haven't even SEEN the bloody thing and I'm already bruised; Wonderful way to start a battle."

"_Seriously,"_ was the only answer David gave.

Behind him, Flagoon had gone silent, all the people it could call had apparently made it through the city and to its trunk, which was just fine with Rasmus. Less area to protect. Except for the few people who hadn't left. "Idiots," he cursed them, but could honestly do nothing.

Once again, the pressure in the air increased, like the time Xelloss had presented himself to Rasmus, grinding into the sorcerer's bones and crushing him flat against the ground. Desperately, he gasped for air and shifted, trying to get a look at what was going on, but his view was limited to the pillar of light, which had expanded to cover at least six blocks of the city ahead of him. And in the center...

"It's a gate!" Rasmus gasped, watching in horror as _Something_ stuck a portion of its body out of the pillar, slowly easing itself from the astral realm into the physical. "Is it..." Rasmus narrowed his eyes, trying to read the astral signature of the beast that was emerging before him and his eyes watered from the effort. "Cephied," he sobbed from the pain of the pressure of the gate opening.

Painfully slow, the demon slipped out of the portal, and at last, hung above the city, vaguely resembling a flying scorpion. The gate closed behind it, but not before something else popped through in a twist of black that looked much like a Mazoku teleportation. Five spots fell, silhouetted against the light, then the light went out and Rasmus pulled himself up to his knees, clutching his chest and casting a healing spell on himself. "Damn it!" he hissed, "I can't do anything when my heart threatens to give out at every little bit of stress!"

David, thankfully didn't argue his ownership of that particular body part, nor did he apologize or comment. Doing so would have been pointless, after all. Gathering himself up, Rasmus leaned heavily on his staff and stared up at the demon. "It's not a dark lord. But it's powerful... powerful enough to be..." Rasmus's eyes widened, "Yes! That's what it is. It's a demonbeast, like Zanafaar. Only... not dead already and not partially controlled by a human. David, why do we get all the luck?" he asked.

"_No clue, little brother. Let's just beat it up quick before it destroys anything."_

Sighing, Rasmus shook his head, "Beating it up would require destroying a lot of stuff. But you're right. Let's do it." He took off, lifting straight upwards, hunting for a better place to perch. He found the tallest building in the city and set down atop the radio antenna, balancing carefully on it. "Let's try something spiritual first."

Taking a breath, Rasmus held his staff out in front of him, then slowly turned it between his hands, drawing a white glowing circle. "Powers bound within the earth, air, fire, water, and spirit, hear my call and lend me strength." His talisman flashed briefly, and he gripped his staff again, upright once more.

Another breath, and Rasmus started the actual spell, closing his eyes in an effort to concentrate, "Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite..." His voice echoed strangely, in his mind as well as outside. David was chanting along, too calling upon his power which gathered on the end of his staff, becoming a bright ball of nearly fluorescent white, "Everlasting flame of blue," he continued, "let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the Infinite!" Opening his eyes, Rasmus set his sights on the demonbeast and shifted his hold on his staff, holding it like a bat, "Now die! RA-TILT!"

His swing set the spell sailing off to its destination, which was a bit farther than the spell was ever meant to travel. Leaning forward and peering closely, Rasmus watched as the demonbeast turned one of its bulbous eyes- set on top of its head like a chameleon's- to look at the spell, which was a puny pebble compared to it. "Oh god," Rasmus murmured as the spell went "Paff!" against the demon's forehead. That was the best descriptive word for what happened.

"Paff!" Rasmus sobbed a laugh, "God dammit!" he flailed his staff at the beast. "Get out of my CITY! You bloody stinking beast!" he shouted, letting off steam with a childish temper tantrum, his staff jingling madly as he waved it. "How dare you come here and fuck up my new life! How DARE you! I'm going to make STEW out of you! Or maybe just SUSHI!" He left off exactly _how_ he was going to accomplish that and settled down before the antenna he was on broke under his weight. He seethed in silence for a few moments. "Alright, FINE!" he snarled, "I'll Dragon Slave your ass!" Launching up into the air again, Rasmus shot like an arrow towards the demonbeast, staff at the ready and a wail of howl echoing across the city.

* * *

Amelia peered up at the white clad figure perched on the antenna set atop one of the many tall buildings in the city as they ran along the street below. His voice sounded eerily familiar, but it was a bit hard to tell with the echo and distance. "That's no Justice speech," she observed, then glanced towards Zelgadis who shook his head, not knowing much more than she did.

"Get out of my CITY!" the figure shrieked, "You bloody stinking beast!" It was the sound of bells ringing in time with every flail of that staff that grated on Zel's nerves as he followed the fluttering tail of Lina's cloak.

"Zel, Amelia," Lina called back to them, "Did you see what spell he cast?"

Zelgadis didn't have the answer, but Amelia did, "I think it was the Rah Tilt, Ms. Lina."

"It certainly didn't do anything to it," Zelgadis added and they came to a stop beneath the building the strange sorcerer had been atop.

Sylphiel staggered and put her hand against the rough brick, panting, and shaking her head slowly, "Ms. Lina- this is... Sairaag. It feels like Sairaag! I can feel Flagoon."

Gourry remained silent, staring up at the sky, as the voice floated down to them in the eerily silent city, "Fine! I'll Dragon Slave your ass!... HHYYYYAAAAAAAAAAaaaaa!" the voice faded with speed and distance and Gourry pointed up.

"Lina! He just took off towards it!"

Glowering, Lina cursed, it was times like these that she wished Gourry hadn't given away the Sword of Light. After all, what harm could it have done if it had been left in Lina's hands? She'd earned it too! "Damn," she muttered, then turned and grabbed Gourry's arm, "Levitation!" Taking off upwards her other three companions with the ability of magic followed, and together, they reached the top of the building, just as the unknown sorcerer reached his goal. In a flash of movement, one of the demonbeast's massive legs moved, intercepting the sorcerer's intended physical attack, or so it seemed, except the man disappeared at the last moment, and a white speck far above the creature appeared, falling swiftly downwards, a glow of Ruby Eyes's power flashing around him.

"He's going to Dragon Slave it," Lina whispered, amazed by the guts the man had. "While falling towards it."

Gourry shaded his eyes from the light of the rising moon and peered towards the monster, "Well, it _is_ pretty high off the ground. I don't think one of your spells could reach it, even from here, Lina."

Lina shook her head as she stared upwards at the demonbeast's belly and chin, and spun around at a gasp behind her, "Ms. Lina! It IS Flagoon!" Sylphiel was pointing her rod towards the holy tree that stood on the horizon, strong and proud and sheltering. The explosion of a spell going off brought Lina back around, just in time to see the white shape go flying off limply towards the holy tree.

It was definitely not a controlled flight Lina thought, "Zel, Amelia, go catch him!" without even a nod, they took off. "How can we defeat this thing?" she asked and peered into the smoke from the Dragon Slave to find that the demonbeast was unhurt.

Xelloss teleported in beside her and set down on the gravel of the roof, eyes open for once. "Hm, looks like this one will be a challenge, even for you, Lina Inverse. So long as you hold grudges," he said, then smiled, closing his eyes, "But I'm sure you'll figure out a way to defeat it."

"If Filia were here, I'd have you combine powers with her," Lina pointed out.

Softly, he laughed, "Oh, you don't need Filia for that."

Snapping her hand out, Lina grasped Xelloss's shirt and yanked him down to eye level, "What's that supposed to mean? Amelia isn't powerful enough to do something like that, and even if she combined with Sylphiel, they still wouldn't be. We need someone who's truly touched by the Gods to do that!"

Lifting a finger, Xelloss smiled, and touched Lina's wrist. Her hand went slack, and he disappeared just as abruptly as he'd come. "Damn it!" Lina shouted and shook her fist at the demonbeast.

"Ms. Lina," Sylphiel called, and Lina turned, watching as the falling figure suddenly called a barrier around himself, his flight path was straight towards Flagoon, and it didn't look as if Amelia and Zelgadis would reach him in time. Sylphiel shifted nervously, watching as a plume of dirt exploded upwards from the impact of the shielded sorcerer. "Oh, I hope he lived through that!"

Nodding, Lina silently agreed, whoever he was, he'd probably be a good ally against this demonbeast.


	13. The Past Catches Up

Wind... lots of it, whistling past his ears. He was still falling, but... hadn't he set off the spell? Opening his eyes, he saw two specks flying towards him. People... Flying? Both of them were wearing white, in clothing cuts he recognized, and smiled slightly.

"_RASMUS! We're FAAALLLLIING!"_ David's wail of terror shocked him from his daze.

"Oh..." he blinked and looked around, "So we are." Closing his eyes against the pain in his body, he concentrated and created a barrier around himself. Not a moment too soon, for he went below the level of the buildings and crashed into the ground, gouging a furrow in the dirt of the park just a short ways from Flagoon's self-spawned forest.

For a long moment, he lay where he was, his shield spell cracked and falling apart around him, and finally, he let it go- only to have the half-cave he'd created bury him. Terror gave him the strength he needed to burst free of the relatively thin layer of dirt and he held on to the adrenaline rush long enough to dust himself off a bit.

"David!" a familiar voice called and Rasmus turned, spotting Zelgadis and Sylphiel running towards him. Zelgadis held his hands together as he ran, drawing a massive ball of light between them and throwing it ahead of himself, "Recovery!" he shouted, followed by Sylphiel's shout of the same spell.

Drawing an easier breath, he shook himself off. "Get back under cover," he told them, then looked up just in time to see another Dragon Slave go off, followed by a second explosion just behind it. "Who the-" he started, but the question was answered a second later.

"Rezo!"

A shiver ran down his back and Rasmus turned his eyes lower as Amelia and Zelgadis landed- the ones from his world. The ones with a serious grudge against him. "No time for personal vendettas," he stated flatly, "I'm not Rezo." Tipping his chin up, he smirked, "I'm better than Rezo," he added, to give them a hint as to who _exactly_ he was, if his eyes hadn't already given him away. Turning, he looked at Sylphiel and his cousin. "Go," he told them, "Things'll get taken care of. Syl, I'll keep my promise to you."

Pressing her lips together, she reluctantly nodded, her hair having fallen from its bun, her shoes missing as was his coat, but she was still wearing his tie. Zelgadis had removed the earrings and who knew what he'd done with them. "See if you two can't tap into Flagoon and put up a barrier. The tree'll work with you Sylphiel. Go!"

Swallowing, she gave a shake of her head and staggered forward, closing the distance between them to throw her arms around his shoulders, and closing her eyes tightly. "You promised!" she gasped, "Don't you dare break your promise!" Lifting her head, she pressed salty tasting lips to his and Rasmus kissed her back while David held her tightly. Breaking the kiss, she stared into his eyes, tears cascading from her own, "You come back to me! Both of you!" she hissed, voice giving out.

Zelgadis stared at the strange stone creature and princess that stood gaping at the white-clad sorcerer and nurse. Turning, Amelia grabbed her companion's sleeve. "But that's ... Sylphiel! And..."

"I know," the Chimera murmured, shock staying his blade. Otherwise he would have cut the copy of Rezo down long before this, except, it wasn't just that Sylphiel was kissing the Destroyer of Sairaag, but his unchanged self was scowling belligerently back at him.

Sylphiel slowly let go of David, then turned and, after a long, confused look at Amelia and the other Zelgadis she ran, going full speed back towards the shadows of the tree. Zelgadis hadn't budged. "You idiot! I said run! Don't make me kick your ass back there!" David surged forth and threatened.

"I want to help," he stated calmly, "I can't just sit back and watch you get the shit beaten out of you."

Fuming, David stomped his foot, "I've GOT help!" he gestured towards Amelia and the Chimera.

"What can AMELIA do?" Zel snapped, "She's just a-" Amelia bristled, puffing up in a way that indicated that she was going to Say something Meaningful. The Chimera reached out and grabbed her wrist, silencing her with a gesture as Rasmus interrupted Zelgadis.

"She can do a hell of a lot more than you can right now. That's not the tree-hugging princess Amelia you know, that..." he stopped, "That's the Amelia _I_ know, Zel, and that's the You that I knew. I'm not just David anymore, not since we died, not fully, it's a long story, and we don't have the time to argue about it. So please, go help Sylphiel protect the people of Sairaag."

Zelgadis slowly shook his head, "David, you were always there for me, why can't I back you up for once? What do you think I've been training for? Am I just not good enough to help you or do you plan on dying..."

Rasmus sighed, "I don't plan on it, but it's definitely a possibility. I don't want you hurt doing something you can't handle."

Stomping his foot, Zelgadis's temper flared, "You always prattle on about sticking together and now you're-"

Turning his back on Zel, he turned to face his past, and though his heart beat itself sore against his ribcage, he stood firmly. "I'll explain on the way," he told the white mage and Chimera and took off into the air.

"DAVID!" Zelgadis wailed, "Don't you leave me behind!"

Firmly ignoring him, Rasmus shot further up into the air, followed by Amelia and the Chimera, who had no choice but to follow him. Zelgadis's voice faded into the distance. That didn't stop the Chimera from giving a sympathetic wince. That tone... those words..._Rezo! Don't leave me behind!_ The name had changed, but it was still the same face and still the same tone and still the same pain. Grinding his teeth, the Chimera changed that old aching pain into fury. Anger was useful; depression was not.

"Now," Zelgadis snarled, "Explain!"

Flying at a level just above the buildings, Rasmus glanced from one side to the other, finding himself bracketed by the two. "You killed me on your world, just as the me on this world died, only here, he died by accident," Rasmus stated, "Somehow we met in the void, and he grabbed me and pulled me back into his body."

Abruptly, Rasmus let David take over speaking, "Wow, he'd told me that Rezo really screwed you up, but I hadn't expected this much..." he shook his head, "I'm sorry, Zel. I really am, but," his expression became stern, "This isn't your world, things haven't gone the same here. You're all mirrored, or we're mirrored, but in either case, though the people are the same, the history isn't. Rasmus has changed, he's learned from what he did. God," he looked ahead, "Why're you throwing this on me? Why do _I_ have to be the one explaining this over and over! Gyah!" he scrubbed his hair in frustration.

Ahead, the building Lina, Gourry, and Sylphiel stood on loomed into view. Gourry waved excitedly and shouted. Lina looked back as Rasmus deftly landed on the building- out of Lina's reach. Amelia and Zelgadis on either side, the Chimera in a sour mood, and Amelia pensive, "Ms. Lina," she said, and opted for the simplest explanation, "It's Kopii Rezo." She hesitated, "sort of..."

"Call me Rasmus, or David." The clone of Rezo flicked a hand across his shirt and firmly took hold of the situation, deciding to run over Lina before she could put her thoughts together and get any momentum. "What happened in the past is over and done with, we've got bigger problems right now. If you want to kill me, then do it later, but right now there're still people in the city, so we can't fight here," Rasmus snapped, feeling stabbed in the heart by the frightened look Sylphiel gave him. Her lips trembled, and she backed up a step, then another, clasping her scepter in one hand, eyes watering. Firmly, he dragged his eyes from her to look towards the demonbeast, and began outlining the situation, "Flagoon called practically anything living that could move on its own to it. They're camped under the tree right now."

Lina folded her arms, "Easy targets."

Grinding his teeth, Rasmus's eyes flashed with fury, but firmly, he held onto his temper. "If I wanted to kill them, I would have before this. Back to the subject that matters right now, Lina. I've tried a doubled Rah Tilt and it didn't work. Doubled Dragon Slaves seem to have a bit of an effect, but were nothing more than an annoyance." He stalked forward, brushing past Lina, his heart pounding as he got close to her, but like David had faced crossing the street, Rasmus forced himself to move past and hopped up onto the low wall edging the roof.

"I think it's lost some altitude," David observed, taking over briefly while Rasmus backed into a corner and wailed in terror for a moment or two before taking a few deep breaths and gathering his courage again, "Maybe we can pester it enough to get it out from over the city and ground it. Then at least, we can get close enough to throw bigger spells at it."

Lifting a hand, Rasmus shifted his weight, "Sounds good," he stated, "Except there's not much cleared land, except over in the park," he said, pointing. "We'll have to be careful it doesn't get too close to the tree."

David gave a soft grunt of agreement, "God," he muttered, "This sucks." Blinking, he peeked back over his shoulder at the group arranged behind him, "We're talking out loud again," he told Rasmus. "Your turn to explain, I've done it enough, maybe they'll listen to you."

"Unlikely," Rasmus muttered then spun to face the assembled group as they stood there, staring at him, mouths open. "Yes, I am talking to myself, in the most literal sense of the word. Two souls, one body, and both aware of each other. I died, met David, he grabbed me and yanked me in with him. So I've been here since you killed me, trying to figure out what you meant when you said the future was a flower and learning what I did wrong. Okay? Get over it. There's a demonbeast in MY CITY!" he fumed, "And it's not allowed because I didn't invite it." His attempt at humor fell rather flat, so Rasmus turned his back towards them.

David shook his head, "That was a really bad joke, Ras..." he muttered, "and I thought programmers were the worst at telling jokes. Turns out its sorcerers. I suppose I'll just have to take second place in that department."

"Oh, wow, thanks Dave," Rasmus sneered with sarcasm. "Number one at last." With that, he took off again, glancing back down towards them, well aware that they were talking about him. "I don't need their help anyway," he muttered. David merely sighed. "What? We can do it on our own. If we stick together, everything'll turn out just fine!"

Again, David sighed, _"Sometimes, Rasmus, you are far too trusting. I'm not a miracle worker."_

Smirking to himself, Rasmus replied, "Neither am I, but together we've got a better chance. Let's annoy it." Heading higher, Rasmus paused, "Hey, try casting Levitation, Dave." Letting go of his spell, Rasmus waited while David panicked for a few moments, then finally shouted the spell out. Once more, they gained altitude and Rasmus chuckled softly, "Evasion maneuvers, David, and head us off in that direction while I fling annoying spells at this bugger."

"Right-o... just... don't do that to me again?" David whimpered.

Gathering a breath, Rasmus twisted the energies in the area, "Flare Arrow!" he shouted, and cast forth the spell, watching as it split apart and spattered like rain against the demonbeast's hide.

* * *

Lina stared after the copy as he sailed off, then turned towards Zelgadis and Amelia. "He's nuts! Insane! Absolutely crazy!" Lina flung her hands into the air, then dropped them. "But at least he's not trying to kill us." Lifting her head again, the sorceress folded her arms.

"Ms. Lina," Amelia started, glancing towards the shrine maiden who stood at the edge of the roof, staring off towards Flagoon, "there was another Ms. Sylphiel, and another Mr. Zelgadis! Over by Flagoon. They seemed to know..." she looked up as copy Rezo's levitation spell failed and he plummeted like a stone for a few seconds before taking off upwards again. "They seemed to know him..."

Taking a breath, Zelgadis folded his arms, staring off after the copy as he got further away, and took up the story. "They seemed to know him quite well. The other me called him 'David', and Kopii said that we had indeed killed him and that this world was like a mirror of ours, with the same people but things had turned out differently..." He paused, then added, "This obviously isn't our world, Lina. Sylphiel kissed Rezo and the other me wasn't a Chimera."

A moment of silence fell and Sylphiel looked back over her shoulder, expression the essence of horror and revulsion. "Never," she whispered, "Never!"

Amelia took up again, "He seems to be on our side, and there's something strange with his eyes!" she shivered, "They're creepy! His left keeps changing from blue to yellow, and I can feel a shift in his energies every time that happens, as if..."

"As if his body was just a doll and the two of them were sharing it," Zelgadis finished, "I think Kopii is speaking whenever his left eye is yellow and ... that David is blue-eyed."

Lina shook her head, "That sounds too crazy to be true, but this place is..." Turning, Lina looked down towards the street, "This place is certainly strange. I don't recognize the landscape except faintly, but this place does feel the same as Sairaag." She turned, peering towards Sylphiel, who'd not said anything more since the revelation of her relationship with the copy. "Sylphiel. Now's not the time," the sorceress stated and dropped her hands to her hips, and looked back up towards the Kopii just in time to see him begin casting flare arrows. "What?" Starting forward, Lina peered intently towards the demonbeast watching as it swatted at Kopii, he dodged aside, casting more flare arrows as he did so. "He's levitating AND casting other spells! How is that possible?"

"Why... with two souls." Xelloss deftly landed on the roof beside her with a proud smile. "Oh my, he seems to be annoying Garadaar... Perhaps he _can_ kill it by himself," he smiled again.

One of the demonbeast's swats connected with the pesky clone and sent him sailing downwards to disappear in a wisp of fog. Scowling, Lina pushed her sleeves up, "Oh no he doesn't! NO ONE shows up Lina Inverse! Especially not enemies I've already defeated!"

Rasmus shot upwards from below and Lina dived back from the side of the building, Gourry catching her, though more by accident than any design on his part. "I nearly had you!" Rasmus shouted back, "If it wasn't for that bloody Bless Blade, you wouldn't have gotten me! Fireball!" The air sizzled for a moment and his shot flew off towards the demonbeast and puffed against its side, like a child throwing peas at its mother.

Lina howled, pushing off Gourry and launching back to the edge of the building, clutching the knee-height wall hard enough to crack the bricks, "You deserved what you got!" she shouted back at him. Taking off after him, she drew her sword, though she wasn't sure exactly what she'd use it for, other than maybe cutting Kopii a new one.

Cackling a bit hysterically, Rasmus shouted back, "I never said I didn't! I deserved far more than that, but your ego was getting on my nerves! Bust Rondo!" he sailed past the demonbeast, firing off his spells.

The demonbeast thrashed and glided forward as the others of Lina's group took to the air, tossing spells but concentrating on the side closest to the direction they wanted it to go. Lina landed again, this time on another roof a bit farther away and started flinging fireballs, regardless of whether anyone was in the way of them or not. "Ohh! He makes me so mad!" she shouted.

Again, Rasmus appeared beside her, "It got you moving," he stated evenly, "I thought you were going to just stand there and talk all night about my motives." He sighed, "You can discuss that afterwards, over tea if you like. I might even buy you lunch. There's a place downtown that has the most wonderful pot roast... but it'll only be there if this lovely darling doesn't crash in the city." He waved a hand at the demonbeast.

Fuming, Lina turned to face him, "Alright! Fine! I'll work with you, but only as long as it takes to kill that thing, and then you're gonna get it!"

"Whatever," Rasmus muttered.

David took over abruptly, "Look Lina, I haven't done anything to you, and this happens to be my body, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't damage it? You've already killed him once... and in this world you killed me by accident and the experience isn't one I'm looking to repeat, I only just got out of the hospital!"

Shivering, the redhead stared at his face, "that... eye-thing is creepy," she muttered.

Softly giving a laugh, David shrugged, "Sorry, it happens when Ras takes over." He glanced towards the demonbeast, finding that Sylphiel, Amelia, and Zelgadis had joined the fight. "Er, right, no time for chitchat, got a city to save. And I used to be a harmless programmer! Now I'm a superhero," he took off again and began flinging spells once more.

Lina shook her head slightly, taking another few moments to breathe. This was strange, fighting along side one of her old enemies, except this time, he was a lot more sane, and balanced by another personality that was quite a bit more mature. Sad to say, he was right about needing to get this lobster on the ground and out from over the city. She didn't want another 'Sairaag Lake' on her hands. Taking a breath, she went back to flinging spells that pattered against the demon's side, about as effective as throwing peas at a bull. Her stomach growled.

"Aww! And I STILL haven't gotten to eat Dragon Cuisine!" she wailed. "OR dinner for that matter!"

* * *

Zelgadis tried desperately to ignore the way Amelia's breasts squished against his arm every time she flung a spell. That damn copy was right. They couldn't fight this beast while it was in the air so high off the ground. Gourry was about useless, and currently being carried by Sylphiel off towards their destination, and Zel... Zelgadis was left with levitating Amelia so that she could cast other spells. She had no hope of carrying him around, so this was the best solution he could see.

Oh, fine! So he was enjoying getting to hold her too. Just so long as he was the only one who knew that, it was okay, Zelgadis supposed.

"Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia said, taking a moment to breathe when Kopii and Lina rejoined the harassment, "You're not still mad at him, are you?" she asked.

Blinking, Zel looked down at her, "Him? Oh..." he looked towards the clone. "...A little," he had to admit, "His face brings back too many memories."

She looked down, "What about that other version of you?" she asked.

Zelgadis winced, she'd had to ask that. "What about him?" he asked evasively instead.

Turning her head, Amelia smiled up at him, "I still think you look cooler."

Odd... how her innocent comment made his heart rate double. Zelgadis sighed, "I still want to be human again," he shifted his grip on her, moving his hold from around her waist to carry her bridal style, figuring that would be less painful on her ribs.

Amelia blushed slightly, "Being human isn't just looking like one," she said softly, almost too softly for him to hear, but then she returned to casting spells.

* * *

Sylphiel set Gourry down in the center of their intended battlefield, her eyes unerringly glued on Flagoon. How healthy it looked here! Beneath its branches, she could see movement, people and animals, all hiding within Flagoon's embrace while the battle raged beyond them. "Hey, Sylphiel," Gourry said, "Uh... who's this Ramsus guy?"

Wincing, the shrine maiden shook her head, "He's Rezo," she replied, "Or, the copy of him that destroyed Sairaag. ...You remember that, don't you?"

Gourry looked up at the sky for a long moment, hand resting on the hilt of his new sword as he contemplated this, then finally nodded, "Oh yeah! He killed that uh. Aerith chick, right?"

"Eris," Sylphiel supplied with a sigh.

Again, the blonde looked around, and after a second, leaned down slightly, "So, what're we doing here? The battle's up there..."

Shaking her head, Sylphiel patted Gourry's hand, "You stay here, Gourry Dear," she told him, and found the strength to smile, "We're going to try and bring it down where you can reach it too."

Pondering that one, Gourry nodded, "Sounds good!" he agreed. Of course he agreed, he liked using his sword. Sylphiel stepped back from him and took off again, leaving him to just stand there, looking useless. It didn't bother him, though, but it bothered Sylphiel. "He looks as useless as I feel," she whispered, clutching the rod that her father had given her, tears stinging her eyes. So many years after... and she still wasn't healed yet. She'd thought she was, but seeing that copy again... "He escaped punishment before, but he won't this time!"

* * *

"Hey! Where's she taking Gourry?" Rasmus called, "Why don't you use the Sword of Light?" Again, Lina was on the move, heading towards a better spot to herd the demonbeast along.

Glowering, she shouted back, "We don't have it! We gave it back to the Overworlders." She had to admit though, the expression on the Kopii's face was quite worth it. He stared at her in shock, then shook his head and shot ahead of her, then pulled up and dived down to do a strafing run with more spells. "Showoff," she muttered, "Just cause you can cast two spells at once..."

Finding a place to land, Lina began gathering energy again. "If this takes much longer though, we're going to be worthless for the next round!" At least by now, they were at the edge of the city. Lina had never seen buildings so tall before. The streets were a confusing web, littered with debris and strange contraptions that blocked any possibility of pedestrians walking around. Shaking her head, she left off her curiosity, perhaps she could get David to explain later, he seemed the more reasonable of the two, and she had to admit, seeing the switch for herself, it was indeed two people in one body.

She shivered, imagining having another one of herself talking to her in her head. "I'd go crazy," Lina admitted and lifted her hands, "Fireball!"

* * *

The demonbeast moved, slowly at first, but as the group became more annoying, it picked up speed, chasing them as they led it towards the fields near the open-air concert hall. David sighed softly as he rocketed across the city, Lina and co. only a hair behind them, and the demonbeast not more than a breath after. The movement of the creature kicked up dust and debris, windows shattered in its wake and Rasmus winced.

"_It could be worse, Ras. It could be whole buildings collapsing."_

"_Or just vaporizing,"_ Rasmus muttered. _"I'm not the direct cause this time, though... not...really, am I?"_

David shook his head slightly, _"I don't blame you. If you'd been calling this thing, I would have known, anyway."_

Rasmus curled up some, taking a break from spell casting for the time being. _"But Lina won't accept your word for it, or mine. She hates me!"_

Smiling slightly, David soothed, _"She'll take Sylphiel's, though. And Zelgadis's."_

Glowering, Rasmus uncurled, _"that's if he didn't do something stupid..."_

"Hey," Lina shouted. "We've pissed it off, now what!"

Blinking back to the present, David pointed, "Land down there."

Changing his angle, David dived, cutting through the air like a bird, Lina following close behind. Gourry stood below them, waving his arms excitedly, or in terror, David couldn't tell in the moment between heading towards him and reaching his destination. Hitting the ground, David rolled to take his momentum, then reached out and caught Lina's cloak as she landed nearby, Gourry running to join her. "Stick close," he said, marveling at how big the demonbeast was as it barreled down from above, obviously intending to squish the gnats that had been bothering it.

Reaching out, David caught Sylphiel as she landed, Zelgadis and Amelia dashed in and snagged his sleeve, and Rasmus triggered the teleport.

* * *

Sylphiel stared in awe, along with everyone else, watching as the giant insect-looking creature crashed into the ground. Closing her eyes, she winced away. "David..." she whispered, feeling cold inside. Opening her eyes, she spotted Zelgadis as he began slipping away, a fire in his eyes that could only be named Rage. Swallowing her pain, she took off after him, finally catching the back of his shirt. "No- Zelgadis- Don't throw your life away!"

"It- it just killed my cousin!" Zelgadis fumed, voice low and dangerous.

Shaking her head, she held on, and grabbed his arm, "And what are you going to do? Kill it with your bare fists?" she asked, "There's a better way."

This shocked him, and he stopped trying to pull away from her, "What do you mean?"

Licking her lips, Sylphiel took a breath, "Follow me," turning, she began pushing through the crowd of gawkers who were too fearful to even realize that a celebrity was roughly shoving his way through them. Deeper into the forest, Sylphiel went, following something that she didn't quite understand, except that it was pulling her in towards the central trunk of the Holy tree.

The further in they went, the darker it got, the heavier the air. Even the animals and bugs that had fled the city hadn't penetrated this far. They were packed into the outer edges, along with the frightened people of Sairaag. Shaking his head somewhat, Zelgadis lifted a hand and pulled upon his power, creating one of those little balls of energy that David had shown him how to make. Left unchanged, it gave off a faint glow, but that was better than nothing in the pitch darkness that surrounded them. Sylphiel walked on unerringly and finally came to a stop at the edge of a large circular pond from which the central trunk of Flagoon grew.

Light flared up.

Zelgadis stared around in shock, losing hold of the power he'd gathered and gasping softly as he looked down at the lake. In it wasn't a reflection of the trees above them, but of an empty sky with a shockingly bright swath of stars running through the center, rimmed with rubble. "Sairaag..." Sylphiel whispered. "Rasmus's Sairaag." Her eyes stung and she knelt at the edge of the lake.

"What... do you mean?" Zelgadis asked, crouching beside her, his eyes wide. "We're wasting time," he added.

Swallowing, Sylphiel pushed her hair back from her face and nodded. "It's in there. On the other side. I have to pass through and get it, Zelgadis," she looked up at him. "..." she hesitated, then spoke, "Flagoon... says you're to wield it this time."

"Wield what?"

She sat there for a long moment, her face pale, but then she stood, and Zelgadis gazed at her in awe. She was no longer just a nurse at the hospital, she was no longer just the mayor's daughter, she wasn't even one of the last nobles of the city, owner of the few legitimate titles left in the country.

She was a priestess.

Taking a breath, Sylphiel turned and stepped out onto the water, leaving a little ripple effect beneath her feet, but she was definitely walking on the water. "You must wield..." she whispered reverently.

"The Bless Blade."

Holding her hands out at her sides, she paced slowly across the lake, then stopped. Taking a deep breath, she tipped her head back, and fell forward.

Zelgadis surged to his feet, expecting her to splash, but she didn't. The water shimmered, and she stood upside down on the other side and continued her trek across the surface of the water. "Oh my ...god," the performer whispered and fell to his knees again.


	14. The Stupidest Question

The mist cleared, and David let go of the squirming shrine maiden he'd had pinned against his side. She staggered back one step then two and fell to her knees. "Hey," he looked down at her, "you alright?"

Sylphiel curled her knees up closer, then abruptly swung her rod at him when he took a step nearer, her eyes overflowing with tears as she looked up. _"I'm beginning to realize that the question 'are you alright' is the stupidest one to ask in the world. Generally the answer seems to be 'No, I'm not, you damn bastard.'"_ Rasmus observed blandly.

David had to agree and watched as Sylphiel staggered to her feet, "Don't- touch me!" she gasped, "Don't ever touch me!"

Taking a breath, Rasmus shook his head, "Would it help if I said I was sorry?" he asked, "I'm trying my best now."

Behind them, the demonbeast was wallowing in the cloud of dust it had kicked up from its landing, grinding itself into the dirt in an effort to make SURE that the little pests were dead. David glanced in that direction and frowned, then turned back to Sylphiel.

"No!" she shouted at him, "Sorry doesn't bring back the dead!"

"Tears don't either," Rasmus pointed out. "Temper tantrums don't get you anything either, except maybe a sword in the gut. I learned that one the hard way."

David winced mentally, _"I don't think you're saying the right thing to her."_

Growling, Rasmus turned away, "Shut up, David, I don't need your help right now. Let me fuck things up on my own."

"Instead," David murmured, taking over before Rasmus could say anything else to make a sailor blush, "why don't you just fix them. Taking a negative view of it will only ensure failure."

Shaking her head, Sylphiel gripped her rod in both hands, charging at him and swinging it. If the demonbeast had been dead, Rasmus would have let it hit, but instead he caught it and held on as she struggled to either get it loose or continue her swing. "Is that what you call Sairaag!" she shouted, "A temper tantrum!"

David remained silent this time, letting Rasmus handle it, though he did so reluctantly. He had to agree, though, that this was something Rasmus needed to work through himself. Tightening his grip on the end of the scepter, Rasmus held the shrine maiden off and calmly replied, "Yes, that's what I call it, because that's what it was. I didn't understand anything back then, all I knew was pain, and nothing was Fair or Right. I thought that if I could just be better than _Him_ then I'd get better treatment, but no matter how hard I tried, I was never good enough for _Her,_ but I kept trying for the stupid reason that maybe I really hadn't done it right, and that my memories of _Him_ were just wrong and _She_ was right. She said fight you, so I did, but I wasn't winning and I wanted to win, I wanted to defeat the enemies that had killed _Him_ even though I knew _He_ killed _Himself_. Just like I did- dying by stupidity and trying to take the greatest number of people with me." He shoved Sylphiel's rod aside and she staggered a few steps and Gourry caught her, a frown pulling at his handsome lips.

Shivering, Rasmus stared at the ground, face turned away, "So... in effect, it was a temper tantrum," he concluded. Taking a breath, he turned to face them again, "I don't care about that anymore, though. It's in the past, and no amount of talking, or even penance can bring them back. ...David told me it was a mistake, and mistakes shouldn't be repeated, we should learn from them and move on. Even if I'm still just a copy, that doesn't give me the right to act childish."

Amelia pumped her fist, "Mr. David is right!" she agreed, "Mr. Rasmus, you shouldn't look on the dark side of thing so much! Because, Life is Wonderful!"

Turning, Rasmus stared at her in shock. "W...what?" Had she just...taken his side? A hand came up to clutch his chest, trying to contain the warmth that spread from her use of his name.

Striking a pose, Amelia announced, "If you keep thinking bad things, then eventually, they come true!" she levered a finger at him then, and Rasmus twitched, "Like when you thought you were nothing but a copy," she pointed out, "You made it true."

David laughed softly, "She's right, you know," he added his two cents, now that he had backup. "Really, you're being like Zel, downright pissy and I'm getting tired of it. At least with him, I can smack him upside the head and tell him to quit, but you're a little more difficult to get at."

Lina folded her arms and sighed, then nodded, "I agree," she admitted, "You made me treat you like I did."

"But..." Rasmus whimpered.

Amelia shook her head, "No Buts! You're still thinking of yourself as Evil, but I believe you can change your ways! After all- the other Sylphiel loves you!"

Rasmus blushed deeply and glanced towards the Sylphiel that stood behind him, tears still running down her face as she leaned against Gourry. It hurt to see her like that. He wanted to reach over and wipe away the pain, but didn't dare. She wasn't going to let him near her. He didn't deserve to touch her. "She loves David," he said instead, falling back on a different line of defense, "she doesn't really know me, doesn't really think I exist."

Heaving a sigh, David shook his head, "She does too. She asked you to keep me safe," he pointed out, "Speaking of which," he glanced towards the demonbeast, "We're not out of the red yet. What's the next step of the plan, genius?"

Flushing, Rasmus shook his head, "I- I- don't know. I thought... Lina would know something once we got it on the ground where we could reach it better."

Folding her arms, Lina turned to look at the creature that was now finished digging a pit into the ground near the concert stadium and eyeing that building rather intently, "Dragon Slaves and Rah Tilts don't work," she pointed out. "They're only irritating it."

"But, doubling the power of the Dragon Slave seemed to do some damage, maybe if all four of us cast it at the same time?" Rasmus timidly offered.

A sly expression crossed her face, one that Rasmus didn't catch, for he was staring at the ground again, all hint of courage or power gone from him. He looked meek and chided as he twisted the end of his sleeve with deft long fingers. David said nothing, not knowing enough about magic to be of any use. Turning to look at the demonbeast again, Lina took a breath, "Well, there's one more spell to try, I suppose..."

This did indeed get Rasmus's attention and he leapt forward, smacking the back of Lina's head hard enough to knock her over, "Don't you DARE cast that!" he snapped at her, "If I wanted a crater, I'd make one myself. There's got to be a better way than that!"

Slowly picking herself up from the ground, Lina laughed, rubbing the back of her head, then looked up at him with a smile, "That was just a test," she replied.

Shock made him step back a pace. _"That's the smile Lina gives her friends,"_ David observed, smirking from the backseat.

"I was just checking to see if you'd _really_ changed," Lina continued and got to her feet, dusting herself off and put her hands on her hips. "I know the dangers of casting that spell," she added, "so if there is another way, we'll find it. Do you know the Raagna Blade?"

Blinking, Rasmus puzzled this one, "I might... it sounds familiar." He disappeared, leaving David in control.

"He's gone off to hunt through Rezo's memories," David explained and rubbed his forehead, "How he can keep anything straight, I don't know," he shook his head, "but Ras says he's got a filing system he keeps everything Rezo knew in. Or something like that. Sort of defeats the purpose of learning from Rezo's mistakes if you take them out of context, but ..." David shrugged, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he's as stubborn as me. We're the same person." He glanced towards the tree for a long moment, "Your other selves are over there," he added, "Lina and Gourry, Zelgadis and Sylphiel's anyway. I think... Amelia went back to Seyruun."

Abruptly, Rasmus re-emerged. "Funny how it's my fault you all met in the first place," he added, "and I did it again here. Yes, I know the Raagna Blade, as well as a few other Chaos spells I could show you later. They're not as powerful as the Giga Slave, but ...well... you haven't destroyed the world yet."

Lina grinned and gave a wink and thumbs up. "Alright then! I say we slice and dice this lobster with the Raagna Blade and give it a good kicking too." Her eyes traveled to the rest of the group, "Ready?"

Amelia pumped her fist, Zelgadis merely nodded, Gourry gave a verbal agreement, but Sylphiel remained silent. Rasmus glanced towards her, but she had her face buried against Gourry's chest. _"I don't like seeing her like that either,"_ David soothed, _"But we do have bigger things than personal relationships right now. And... honestly, there's only one body between us. We don't need two girlfriends."_

Reluctantly, Rasmus had to agree and turned to follow Lina as she set off to restart the battle with their lobster-beast. _"I wonder if she sees it as food,"_ Rasmus stared up at the thing. It really did kinda look like a lobster or ... something of that general body shape. Putting such strange thoughts from his mind, Rasmus turned his concentration towards making the spells he'd selected available to David. _"Got it?"_ he asked, once he was finished and returned to the 'backseat' and watched as David followed Lina.

"Yep," was David's murmur.

Ahead, the demonbeast Garadaar lifted itself out of the crater it had created and stretched, then turned, beginning to head towards the stadium, apparently intending that to be its next casualty. Lifting an armored claw-like foot, it smashed through the walls, finned scorpion tail arching up over it's back in delight at the destruction it was causing. The other claw lifted and crashed through the nosebleed section of the seating.

"Woah!" Gourry observed, "He's huge!"

David shook his head, "Only the size of a football stadium. That's just the concert hall," but after the blank looks he was given, David shut up. "Hey, uh, Gourry, do you have a regular sword, or what?"

Gourry lifted the Star of Justice sword he'd gotten from the Peacemen and shook his head, "It's normal, I think."

Reaching into his cloak, Rasmus grasped the first thing that came to hand and looked at it as they came to a stop beneath the demonbeast, but far enough away from the stadium to avoid falling blocks of concrete. "Here, Howling Sword- version three. Never liked the first two," Rasmus tossed it to Gourry, sheath and all. Catching it, the swordsman felt the balance, then switched it with the other sword. "Underpowered in my opinion, but Eris didn't give much time to make it real nice."

"Hey! Thanks. Hang onto this for me?" Gourry asked, tossing the other sword back. Giving a nod, Rasmus stuck the Star of Justice sword into his cloak.

David muttered, _"Hey, why didn't we use one of those things before?"_

"_Because, dork, neither of us knows how to use a sword. Besides, my staff was enchanted. It amplified power and was super tough metal,"_ Rasmus answered.

Pursing his lips, David looked off towards the city, _"Speaking of which... we lost it at the beginning of the fight..."_

Snorting, Rasmus held out his hand. _"No we didn't."_ The air glowed in his palm, then expanded, snapping into a line that went from the ground to the height of Rasmus's head. Closing his fingers over it, the sorcerer twisted his wrist, and the light shattered with a clash of metal rings that rang like bells in the night. By now, the moon had risen and was full, casting plenty of light upon the battlefield. Zelgadis looked over, and winced at the sound. "Sorry," Rasmus murmured, "but I lost it earlier." Shifting, he slipped it into his subspace pocket.

Lina shook her head, then turned and leapt atop a block of rubble beneath Garadaar's feet, the gems on her wrists, throat, and belt, flashing just before she began casting another spell. "Demon's blood talisman?" Rasmus murmured, only just realizing that they weren't for show, like the jewels on her shoulder guards. "Fits her," he muttered and closed his eyes. _"Lets do it, David."_

Stepping up beside Lina, Rasmus took a breath and lifted his hands, speaking out loud while David murmured within his mind, matching time with the sorceress, who was actually at eye level with him at the moment. "_Lord of the Darkness and Four Worlds, I beseech thy fragments; by all of the power thou possess, grant the heavens' wrath to my hand; unleash the sword of dark, freezing nothingness; by our power, our combined might, let us walk as one along the path of destruction..."_

Around them, black lightning flickered, twin lances of it arcing up between their hands. As they reached the finale of the chant, their fingers closed over the power. "Raagna Blade!" they shouted together, and the swords formed. Admittedly, Rasmus held a spear, and Lina's was a broad bladed sword, but the effect was still stunning.

Drawing his sword, Gourry gave a testing swing to it. Zelgadis drew his own sword. "Astral Vine," he cast upon it, and Amelia clasped her glowing fists. Sylphiel merely lifted her scepter.

"Lets go!" Lina shouted and took off, heading towards the closest part of the demonbeast, firmly putting out of her mind the fact that it could easily just step on her and she'd be dead.

Swinging her blade downward, Lina gave a shout as it contacted one of the heavily armored legs of Garadaar. For a moment, the armor resisted, then her spell cut through. The leg moved away and the demonbeast shifted, pulling its large spherical head from the stadium and an eye, mounted like a chameleon's swiveled down to look at Lina.

Rasmus surged past her then, leaping up from one piece of rubble to the next until he was inside the stadium. She saw him again when he reached the top of the wall and slashed at the other enormous eye. "Aim for its joints!" Lina ordered and the others launched into motion.

"Hyah!" Gourry shouted from beside her and a blast of wind-energy slashed through the air, hitting the joint of the leg Lina had already scratched. Amelia and Zelgadis paired up on the next leg over and were taking turns at attacking and dodging as the demonbeast tried to stomp them. Rasmus wasn't faring so well, above. Garadaar lifted its pincers and snapped at the sorcerer when his Raagna Spear left a scratch on the demonbeast's eyelid as it squeezed its eye shut just before the spell hit. Unable to take any more time observing, Lina sprang back into action.

* * *

Rasmus dodged another clip from the left pincer, backing up along the narrow wall of the stadium. The right pincer was nowhere to be seen, and that worried him. Taking a breath, he charged forward, slipping under the left pincer when it drew back to snip again. He had the disturbing feeling that the thing was herding him, and he was _not_ going to stand for that! Predictably, the demonbeast brought its claw down, intending to crush Rasmus as he went beneath it, but he angled his spear upwards and caught the tip of his spell-blade between the plates of armor covering the creature's claw.

Still, he nearly got crushed as the blade slid in for a fair distance before finally hitting something that caused pain. Rasmus jabbed the spear upwards firmly and wiggled it. Shrieking in fury as the little pests it thought it had killed had begun to really make a nuisance of themselves, Garadaar jerked its claw back, a rain of sticky green-black ichor splattering across Rasmus as his spear slid out from the joint. At least, with a blade like this, it couldn't get caught and pulled from his hands.

With the pincer's retreat, Rasmus had a moment to look down at the fight below him. They looked to be faring about the same as Rasmus: drawing some blood, but not doing much in the way of real damage. In despair, he looked towards the demonbeast again, which had raised its right pincer from harassing Lina and Gourry up to bother him. Amelia and Zelgadis had moved to the back left side, taking advantage of the fact that the creature only had two eyes, even if they could look in every direction independently. Rasmus brought his spear around and parried another snip, then leapt back when the claw slammed into the walkway he'd just been standing on, breaking through the thin shell of concrete and leaving a gaping hole.

Turning, Rasmus dodged the left pincer again. It was still dripping that horrid gunk, but otherwise, the wound hadn't been enough to disable the appendage entirely. Leaping forward, Rasmus escaped a double-jab from the claws and landed on the demonbeast's head, turning to face both the creature's eyes as the large slit pupils focused on him intently.

A very dangerous position, but now he had its full attention. Rasmus dashed forward, those eyes following his progress across its head. Both pincers lifted again, aiming carefully in an effort to pick the vermin off its scalp. The tail arched up, poisoned tip poised to strike. _"I could almost feel sorry for it,_" David muttered. _"Almost."_

"It's not getting an ounce of sympathy from me," Rasmus replied and dodged a claw as it carefully tried to pick him off. The tail swayed above him and the creature danced on all six of its legs.

Rasmus dodged to the right as the tail stabbed downwards, the tip clacking off the armor plating that covered the skull. Turning, he swung his spear around and slashed. This time, though the eye closed again, his spear slipped between the lids and ichor spurted out in a satisfying arc.

He didn't have the time to rejoice, for the demonbeast reared its head and shook, sending Rasmus flying. _"Rasmus- Look there!_" Focusing his eyes, Rasmus searched over the head of the demonbeast, trying to find what David had seen.

A claw swung upwards, clipping him in the side, and as one, David and Rasmus lost concentration on their blade. Dazed, they crashed to the ground, then slid down between a pair of blocks as the demonbeast screamed in pain and fury, thrashing around blindly.

Darkness took him.


	15. Unexpected Allies

Sylphiel jogged across the rubble, following Lina, though rather reluctantly, as their goal was the mound of blocks David's body had fallen into. Garadaar had stumbled off a ways, standing away from the stadium wall, too far away for anyone to jump onto its head again. It held its claws up, tail ready as it eyed the fleas that dared to bother it. Amelia was healing Zelgadis and Gourry while Lina had commanded Sylphiel to follow.

Reaching the pile, Lina climbed down amidst it, "David?" she called, "Rasmus?" hoping that he wasn't dead. He said he'd teach her some more spells! "David!" she tried again.

Something moved amidst the dust, and slowly, Rasmus pulled himself out from beneath a slightly propped up piece of concrete wall. Blood stood out against the white powder of dust, oozing down his cheek from a gash right at his hairline and a cut in his leg. His left hand clutched his chest. Once he'd completely emerged, he collapsed again, falling onto his face with a shudder. "Li...na," he choked as she came to crouch beside him.

"Don't talk," she told him, "We'll get you fixed up in no time."

Rasmus looked up at her and smiled slightly, apparently deeply touched by her concern, and said no more. "Sylphiel!" Lina snapped, "Get over here." Holding her own hands out, Lina began casting a healing spell. Pressing her lips together, Sylphiel came to kneel beside the redhead and helped.

Taking a shuddering breath, Rasmus's clutch on his heart eased, "Lina, I saw a weak point," he coughed as soon as he felt well enough to speak. "It's on the head, three plates meet there, just behind the eyes."

Shaking her head, Lina sighed, "It's on guard now," she reported, "And we're all but beat. We've got one card left, and I'm not going to have enough power to control it if-"

Despite the pain of the maneuver, Rasmus shoved himself up to a sitting position, "That's always your answer, isn't it?" he demanded. "If Ruby Eye's spell doesn't work, Giga Slave it!"

Drawing back, Lina took a breath, "That's not true!" she retorted, "I defeated Darkstar combined with Vorfeed and an Ancient Dragon without it. But we can't use that spell. It required a Mazoku and a servant of the gods to combine their powers with me, and I don't happen to have either right now. Nor do I have any way to get the spell to its head unless we drop it down from above."

Rasmus sagged back down again, just short of falling into Sylphiel's lap and fell silent. Lifting her hands again, Sylphiel stubbornly went on healing him, her eyes cold. Slowly, his fingers dug into the dirt, pulling up a handful of grass that lay hidden beneath the rock powder and gravel from the stadium. Abruptly, his grip relaxed and David lifted his head and began dusting his hair out. "That thing's blood stinks," he griped, not liking the eerie silence that had fallen. "God, I'm going to take a good long bath after this is over."

"You still think we can win this?" Lina asked, amazed.

David dusted his shirt a bit, finding splatters of the Demonbeast's ichor. "Yes," he stated firmly, "I refuse to believe otherwise." He looked towards her, "Because if I don't, Rasmus will quit trying to find some other way, and you'll feel resigned to cast that Giga Slave, which to my understanding, isn't the best frame of mind to be in when casting something that'll destroy the world if you screw up. Also, if I give up, the rest of your group will begin to doubt, and the world really will be lost. Lina, honestly, my people don't have the weapons capability to handle something like this, and we have no magic users. I doubt a nuke would scratch its hide any more than a Dragon Slave did. So you and Ras are this world's hope."

Sylphiel lowered her hands, her expression softening somewhat, and she looked away. David looked towards her, then back towards Lina with a significant look. Lina glanced towards the shrine maiden as well, and nodded her understanding. So Rasmus was trying to make it up to her as well, trying to save this Sairaag where he'd destroyed the other. Lina sighed and sat back as the last three of their party crested the hill of rubble and slithered down to join them.

Taking a breath, Rasmus re-emerged, "Maybe we can distract it enough for someone to get on its head again?" he suggested, and continued before Lina could point out that they'd tried everything already. "I could cast Vun Ga Ruim and send the summons to drain it while you take a Raagna Blade to that joint? Or perhaps I could summon a Brass Demon."

"That might work," Lina conceded as the others limped up to take exhausted seats on the ground around them. "But I'd have to find a way to get up there, and it would have to hold still long enough for me to stand on it and cast the spell." She sighed, "Except, my Raagna Blade isn't as powerful as yours. I wasn't able to do more than scratch it. Yours drew blood."

Rasmus huffed, "I got a lucky shot between its plating, and I also had David cast it with me."

Slapping her hand into her palm, "Aha," Lina pronounced, "So that's how you were casting two spells at once."

But Rasmus was shaking his head, "We're about out of energy," he replied. "It's a lot more difficult than you think. Sure, our spells turn out stronger when we match them, but that's the hardest part, Matching. You and..." he hesitated, "Sylphiel have been casting Dragon Slaves together, but you're still doing it separately. David and I are casting through the same pair of hands."

Zelgadis folded his arms and sighed, "So, you're saying... you've only got one big spell left, and you're finished?" Both Rasmus and Lina nodded. Silence fell.

"Is anyone keeping an eye on that thing?" David asked after a moment more.

Amelia nodded, "I can see it from here," she sighed, "It hasn't moved, but its still on guard," she peeked at his eyes, "Mr. David."

He gave a slight smile at that, then sighed, "The other Sylphiel and Zelgadis are still fresh and ...should be under Flagoon. But I wouldn't put it past Zel to do something stupid." He shook his head, then looked towards the version that was currently present. "No insult intended."

"None taken," Zelgadis muttered, "I would do something dumb," he admitted and put his elbow on his knee, resting his forehead on his hand. "I have before."

Tipping his head to the side, David hmmed, "You're more mature, I think," he stated, "Though, I'd say my version's older."

Lifting his head slightly, Zelgadis peered at David, "It's the curse," he grumped. "And the one who gave it to me."

David looked away, then frowned, "Damn it, stop that!" he snapped at Zelgadis, "You brood too damn much. Keep it up and you'll never get anything done." Abruptly, he got to his feet, and swayed, ending up using Sylphiel's shoulder as a steadying point while he collected his wits and tried to settle the world. Landscape wasn't supposed to twirl. "Are we going to try it?" he asked, "with the... whatever it was demon."

"You called?"

Xelloss landed next to Lina with a smile.

Rasmus flared, removing his hand from Sylphiel and bristled, "No, go away! We don't want whatever trouble you're here to start!"

Lifting a finger, Xelloss tsked, "I still say that you need me."

Shaking his fist, Rasmus wheezed, "You're SO TOAST when I get the energy to blast you! I don't deal with Mazoku!"

"Gee, he sounds like Ms. Filia," Gourry observed, laughing softly.

Lina jumped to her feet, "Wait!" she leapt up, latching onto Xelloss's back, arm around his neck in a chokehold, "You mean HE's the servant of the gods?"

Opening his eyes, Xelloss smirked, "Oh my, you found out. Oh well..." he shrugged, "Yes, he's the God Touched one I mentioned before. It wasn't coincidence that he ended up here, after all. Cephied put him here."

David pushed Rasmus back, ignoring the seething mage in an effort to get some information, "Hey- what do you mean? The gods stuck Ras and me together? But WHY?"

Lifting a finger Xelloss smirked, "That... is a secret!"

Growling, Lina slid off the Mazoku's back, "You're going to stick around and help this time, aren't you?" she asked.

Sighing, Xelloss dusted his clothes off, "I suppose, since I have to," he admitted, "But..." he opened one eye. "You'll only get one shot at this."

Lina flopped back onto the ground, "We still don't have anything to cast the spell on. Not like the weapons of light we used before."

"Will this work?"

Lifting their heads, the group looked up at the young man who stood casually above them, a wide blade resting over his shoulder from the narrow hilt, light catching the large green gem in the center. Dramatically heroic, he looked, and probably knew it too. Beside him stood a young woman, her hair getting pulled in the breeze that had sprung up. The man lifted the gleaming sword off his shoulder and turned the flat of the blade towards them.

Sylphiel stood, "The Bless Blade!" she gasped. "But- how is it here?"

Stepping forward, and into better view, the pair made their way down to join the group, "I went and got it," the woman replied, "From ...the other Sairaag. We never had a blade like this, so I guess there's just the one." She stopped briefly to meet Sylphiel's eyes, then gave a slight smile and turned, "Are you okay David?" she asked, reaching up to touch the blood on his face.

David's heart lightened, and he smiled at her, "Yeah, I'm okay," he put his arms around her. "About ready to end this, though."

The man heaved a sigh and dropped the tip of the Bless Blade into the earth and shoved his hair back from his face. "Dave... Your girlfriend's really freaky," he stated, "She can walk on water."

Laughing, David replied, looking at his Sylphiel's face, "Oh, I already knew that, Zel. She's a regular miracle worker." She blushed darkly, but didn't argue.

Zel leaned on the Bless Blade and sighed, "So, what's the plan?" he asked. "Do this Demon-God spell on the sword and fling me at your monster? I seriously hope I'm gonna have some backup, cause that thing looks pissed."

Scowling, Rasmus snapped, "Who said you were going?"

Straightening, Zel pointed at Syl, "Yon Priestess of Flagoon," he stated, "Said something about me being 'chosen' to wield the sword. Craziness if you ask me, but," he smirked slightly, "If it'll help you out, I don't mind getting a little dirty."

The Chimera stood, shaking his head, "Idiot," he muttered, or started to. Zel swung around and planted a foot in his other self's stomach and left it there. The impact rocked the Chimera back slightly, but mostly it was shock he suffered from.

"Listen up," Zel snapped, "David's rule: no brooding without explaining. So either cough up the story or lighten up."

Though the blow hadn't hurt, the Chimera stood stunned for a moment longer, then lifted a hand to his forehead and laughed softly. "No choice," he sighed, "We don't have time for an epic."

Lowering his foot, Zel gave a nod and pulled the Bless Blade back onto his shoulder. Taking a breath, Lina got to her feet again and dusted her legs off, "Alright, here's the plan. Amelia, Zelgadis," she pointed at the Chimera, "Sylphiel," she pointed at the shrine maiden, "You three figure out a way to tie the thing down, Gourry... sorry, but you get to play bait and attract it's attention and keep that tail from getting us."

Now, Lina pointed at the other Sylphiel, "You- what's wrong?" she stopped when Syl shook her head.

"I only know one healing spell, Ms. Inverse," Syl answered, "And..." she blushed softly, "I can't always cast it right."

Sighing and putting her hand to her forehead, Lina started to speak again when Rasmus interrupted, still holding Syl in a rather possessive grip around behind her waist. "I could teach Syl and Zel Levitation fairly quickly. Zel can fly up over the lobster's head."

Lina smiled at that, "Alright, do it. Syl, you'll just be backup in case Rasmus or I have a problem. Give the signal to Zel when we're ready. Zel," she pointed at the Rockstar, "There's a place on its head, just behind the eyes where three armor plates join. That's your target. It's going to be dangerous though, that tail has a poison tip and I think you're going to have to ride the blade all the way down. Meanwhile, Xelloss, Rasmus and I will cast the spell."

She didn't say that after that, she'd be finished for the night. Lina didn't have to, and didn't want to. Instead, she found somewhere to sit and rest for a short while and sighed. Gourry sat beside her while Rasmus took his Zel and Syl off to the side, showing them both how to cast a lighting spell, then worked on levitation with them. The other three mages broke off to discuss how they might confine the demonbeast long enough for Zel to stab it. Xelloss simply stood there, grinning to himself.

"Hey, Xelloss," Lina called. He looked over at her with that smile still in place, "What're you getting out of this?" she asked, expecting the exact answer that she got.

"That... is a secret."

* * *

Rasmus gibbered incoherently in the back of David's mind as they moved into position. David didn't actually have anything to do in this plan, other than loan his body to Rasmus who would be calling upon the power of the gods. Meaning that he would have to open himself up completely to their judgment. To say that he wasn't looking forward to it was an understatement.

David at least got to hold his Sylphiel's hand while they walked. The other one had given them such a strange look before running away to get into her position that David had felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Syl hadn't paid the least bit of attention to her, other than a slight smile. Though, he had a feeling that they'd exchanged a few words while Rasmus was showing Lina a spell called Chaotic Ball. It was apparently some spell that used non-matter to implode whatever it hit.

Zel was walking with Lina and Xelloss; Gourry, Amelia, and the other Zelgadis had followed after Lina's Sylphiel. They'd apparently come up with some solution to the problem of keeping the demonbeast still, but David still worried.

Squeezing Syl's hand, David leaned down and whispered to her, "What did you tell your other self?" he asked curiously.

Smiling up at him, Sylphiel laughed softly, "She wanted to know why I love you." David blushed slightly and Rasmus uncurled from his corner and began paying attention. "I told her," she said softly, moving to walk closer to him, tucking their clasped hands behind her back. "I told her that I love David because you're a good man willing to stand up for what you believe in and forgive people, as well as give them a chance even when they've admitted to doing wrong before, and you're sweet and honest and a bit of a flirt." She took a breath, "And I told her that I love Rasmus because he's so cute when he's unsure of himself, but willing to try new things, and he's willing to take responsibility for his actions and once he realizes they're wrong he tries to make it right, he says the nicest things so innocently, as if it were obvious, and he's a great kisser." By now, David's face was the shade of a combined blush from both copies of Rezo, making for one rather red sorcerer. "And lastly, I love you both... because you love me."

Unable to speak, David, as well as Rasmus said nothing, and merely managed to kiss her forehead and stumbled along beside her. Lina glanced back, having overheard the conversation, a slight smile touching her lips. Coming to a stop, Lina put her hands on her hips. "Here's good," she stated, watching as the others got into position around the demonbeast.

Zel, still carrying the Bless Blade, shifted its weight on his shoulder and glanced back towards the tree, then shifted his eyes to David. "Remember that promise," he stated, "About dying."

"Which one? I seem to have made two," David answered.

Snorting, Zel flicked his chin up, "Both of them," he stated.

Glancing at the blade, Rasmus reached into his cloak and pulled out a length of black cloth. "Here, put this on," he said, "And try not to get in front of the moon."

Taking the offered cape, Zel wrapped it around his shoulders and clipped it into place, then grinned, "Wow, a real sorcerer's cloak," he marveled and pulled the hood up. Rasmus smirked faintly. "This is really nice fabric too," Zel continued, "and it's not hot."

"It's spelled to be opposite of the weather. In summer and fall it has a modified freeze spell on it, in winter and spring it radiates heat. The fabric'll resist dust, stains, and water, too," Rasmus explained.

Grinning, Zel held out his hand, "Thanks," they exchanged their 'secret' handshake, "See you when it's over." Taking a breath, he closed his eyes. "Levitation!" He leapt into the air, hauling the Bless Blade with him.

Letting go of Sylphiel's hand, Rasmus stepped up beside Lina. "One chance," he whispered, "Make or break, it's over."

Glancing up at him, Lina huffed, "and here I was, trying to look on the bright side. You're worse than Zelgadis."

"I come by it legitimately," Rasmus replied dourly, "Straight from the source."

David smiled slightly, "I'm sure it'll turn out okay in the end."

Xelloss sighed, "Really, all this is making me sick." He lifted his staff, and placed it in front of himself, a wash of blackness trailing up off of his form.

Shivering, Rasmus stared ahead, then closed his eyes and reached for a part of him that Rezo had long neglected in himself: his tie to the gods, and prayed. _"Oh gods, please, this isn't about me and what I did, this is about... about saving these people from something they can't fight. So if you must judge me, judge my goal first, then anything else you see fit!"_

Lina took a breath, watching Rasmus as nothing happened at first. Slowly, though, white light began to rise up off of him, growing in power until it balanced the dark that Xelloss was emitting. As one, they reached out, placing their hands upon Lina's shoulders, feeding their power into her.

Taking a breath, Lina gathered that power and began shaping it along with her Chaos spell.

* * *

Sylphiel came to a stop at her position in the west, the direction Flagoon stood in, relative to their position, and wiped a hand across her forehead. Amelia had suggested that they each take a cardinal direction, and cast the spell at the same time, in hopes that it would be powerful enough to work on the demonbeast, for at least a little while. A flash of light went up from Lina's group, then the blade was covered and its carrier disappeared into the darkness of the sky. A pillar of Evil began to radiate up from the same group, followed by light. The two pillars twined and twisted, fighting each other even in this form.

Turning her eyes away, Sylphiel looked across the way to Amelia who had gotten into her place, and then, to Zelgadis and Gourry who'd decided they'd pair up, since Gourry had no ability to heal himself.

Lifting her hands to her face, the shrine maiden rubbed her eyes. _"I love them because they love me,"_ her other self had said. Then the image of Rasmus looking down at her with despair in his eyes, despair mixed with admiration and love, even as he'd told her that what he'd done to Sairaag was nothing more meaningful than a child's temper tantrum.

"After," she whispered, "Afterwards, I can think about this!" They were all in position, and the remaining large eye was roving from one member of the group to the next, pupil growing and shrinking as it focused on them. The demonbeast only looked upwards once, and once Lina started her spell-casting, it focused on her intently and began to move forward, pincers up to protect its remaining eye, and tail arching over its back, ready to strike.

The signal was given, a triple flash of light, and Sylphiel gasped a breath of air, shouting in time with Amelia and Zelgadis, "Laphas seed!" Ropes of golden light sparked into existence and wrapped around Garadaar. Abruptly, the demonbeast's progress forward was halted. It struggled, letting out a piercing wail that drove Sylphiel to her knees while covering her ears. A shot of white light, like before flared out, arcing across the ground just behind Lina's group.

The spell held though, and Sylphiel looked up, just in time to see Lina's spell go off, a ball of light and dark and chaos speeding upward.

Zel suddenly became visible again as his cloak whipped back, the Bless Blade catching the moonlight, just before Lina's spell caught on the sword. He continued downwards, nothing more than a streak of light even as Garadaar's eye swiveled up to look at him.

It struggled harder and Sylphiel had to put all her attention into her spell. It broke Amelia's first, then hers. "We're doomed!" Sylphiel sobbed and covered her eyes.

* * *

The signal! Zelgadis dived downwards, keeping the sword tucked under his cloak so it wouldn't reflect the moon's light, only to throw it back when he saw the flash from Syl far below. Lina's spell arced upwards, a flashing creation that awed and terrified the singer-guitar player. Steeling himself, Zel swallowed and squinted against the rush of air. He had a job to do, and it was important. He couldn't fail! Not and let David down. They were counting on him to keep his part.

Now, he swung the Bless Blade down, piercing the spell with the point of the blade, then moved it aside so he could see to target, the spell leaving a trail of dark-light. The demonbeast's eye swiveled upward and focused on him, and the lines holding it down from the east broke, then the west. Zel bit his lower lip as terror surged through him. _I'm too young to die!_

He aimed the sword and shifted his grip on it- and impacted.

The sword met resistance, but only briefly, and Zel opened his eyes again and shoved, both physically and magically. Lina's spell exploded in a flash of light that was so dark as to be blinding.

Zel screamed in fury, "DIE!"


	16. Scales of Justice

Birds were chirping overhead... the sound of wind in leaves... Rasmus took a slow breath, feeling David stir and finally open his eyes. He was laying on his side, still wearing his grimy clothes from the fight, head pillowed under his rolled up cloak. Turning over, he squinted up at the green haze above them with spots of light glinting through breaks in the leaves. "where...?" he murmured.

"Good morning sleepy," Sylphiel leaned over him from his other side, her tangled hair falling in a curtain on either side of her face. She was still wearing the outfit she'd been in the night before, though her makeup was washed off. He still thought she looked gorgeous in the morning.

A smile curved David's lips, "Morning," he replied and wiggled his toes, just to make sure they were still there. Yep, and so were his legs, and arms. Taking a breath, he levered himself up onto his elbows and stared around. He was under Flagoon, and truly felt as if he'd slept on the ground, and very badly at that. "God... I'm getting old," he complained, trying to pop his neck by giving it a twist.

Sylphiel laughed and moved behind him, applying her hands to his neck, "Not so," she disagreed and he melted in her grip. Leaning forward, she kissed his cheek. "My heroes," she added.

Opening his eyes partially, Rasmus pulled his wits together and asked, "So... we killed it?"

She gave a laugh, "It's rotting in the sun right as we speak. Not a very pleasant smell, but thankfully the city is upwind of it."

Rasmus gave a sigh of relief and melted back into her massage. "What about the others," David asked.

Now, she slid her hands down his shoulders and across his chest and tucked herself against his back, "Lina and Gourry are having breakfast, courtesy of a bakery in town, Amelia and the two Zelgadis's are trying to get some, and you were the last to wake."

"I had to replenish more energy than they did," David answered and locked his hands on hers. "Where's your other self?"

Putting her face to his hair, Sylphiel replied, "She's gone to Flagoon's central trunk. To think about things, I guess."

Taking a breath, David stretched, "I think I'll go try my luck at the table too. Coming?"

Letting go of him, Sylphiel got to her feet and assisted him to his, then looped her arm with his as they walked a short distance away to where an immense feast was being decimated. The Zelgadis'es were peacefully sharing a pot of coffee off to the side, Amelia sitting beside them with a platter of various pastries she'd stolen from Lina and Gourry. Eyeing Lina and Gourry, David decided to join the other three.

Zel lifted a hand and found up a fourth coffee cup, which he handed to David after he'd taken a seat with Sylphiel still beside him. "Ah, you're a saint," he breathed and sipped the coffee blissfully for a moment.

The Chimera version snorted and reached over to refill his other self's cup without even bothering to ask. Rolling his neck, Zel shrugged a bit, "No, I just know you too well," he stated, eyes half lidded in his 'I'm a superstar' look, then smiled slightly and sipped his coffee. "Sleep well?"

"Like a rock," David winced, "Or maybe on a rock." He rubbed his back even as he glanced towards the Chimera, who pretended not to notice what David had said. "I'm way too old for camping." Zel snorted disbelief. "So. You guys going to head home soon?"

Amelia sighed, "Xelloss told us we'd have to find our own way back and disappeared. So I guess we're stuck."

Sylphiel shook her head, "Not so," she smiled, "I crossed over and back to get the Bless Blade."

Looking interested, the Chimera lowered his cup and asked, "How did you do that?"

Blushing, she explained, "There's a lake around Flagoon's central trunk. It reflected your world and I fell through the mirror."

"It was creepy," Zel muttered, "She walked on water and fell flat and stood up on the other side." He shook his head, "I think I've had enough of paranormal stuff for one lifetime."

"As for me," Lina stated, having finished her breakfast while they were talking, "I've had enough of this place. Sylphiel, think you could get Flagoon to open the way again? I don't mean to be rude or anything, but we've got Dragon Cuisine waiting back home and I've had to wait two years for it to be ready!"

Rolling his eyes, the Chimera sighed, "You just ate, Lina, and you're already thinking about dinner?"

"I'VE BEEN WAITING TWO YEARS FOR DRAGON CUISINE!"

David rubbed his ears, "ouch..."

The Chimera fixed his hair, which had been blown back by the sorceress's shout, the other Zel stuck a finger in his ear. "She always this loud?" he asked.

"Afraid so," the Chimera replied coolly and sipped his coffee.

Heaving a sigh, Rasmus reached over and picked up a doughnut, "I think we'd better escort them back to their world," he told Sylphiel, "I don't think this place could handle two Lina's and we'll be able to have breakfast in peace when she's gone."

Glowering, Lina raised her fist, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Getting to his feet with coffee in one hand and pastry in the other, Rasmus replied evenly, "You're giving me a headache."

"Hey! I beat up your demonbeast! The least you could do is show a little courtesy, Rasmus!" Lina shouted as the copy of Rezo casually sipped his coffee.

After swallowing, he closed his eyes and sniffed haughtily, "I could've gotten rid of it eventually on my own," he stated haughtily, eyes closing in a very Rezo-like fashion. "Besides, it wasn't mine. It came from your world."

Zel shivered, the Chimera shivered, "Don't do that," the said in unison and looked at each other. "Wow. Stereo," Zel added, "That'd be an awesome effect for concerts."

Opening his eyes, Rasmus regarded Lina for a long moment, "Speaking of which, why DID it come here?"

Giving a nervous laugh, the redheaded sorceress scratched the back of her neck, "Well, see, there's this university in Sairaag that teaches magic, as well as studies chimera and copy making. Their Dean was a little nuts and kept using this thing called the Mirror Breaker to scry, when it's supposed to suck the energy out of spells it's applied to, and ... eh. He ...sorta messed up the barrier between this world and ours."

"HA!" Rasmus levered a finger at her, "NOT my fault this time!" He pumped a fist in victory.

Clearing her throat, Lina thumped her hands on her hips, "ANYWAY," she continued, "We found some statue amidst the junk that was in Rezo's lab, which YOU blew up, and scattered everything around the ruins of Sairaag."

"Oh god, that was Garadaar?" Rasmus asked, "Damn! We just defeated a demonbeast stronger than Zanafaar when HE was alive."

Frowning, Amelia looked up at him and stated, "You know what all that stuff in Rezo's lab did, don't you?" Rasmus nodded, swallowing the sip of coffee he'd taken. She sighed, "You'd be pretty useful over at the university. They sort of need a new Dean..."

Lina gave a slight shrug when Rasmus looked at her, "He killed himself, by stupidity," she explained, "He thought he could control Garadaar. Somehow, I don't think he had any sort of plan on how to do that, but he used the Mirror Breaker to break the seals on the statue, and it's only luck that the thing didn't completely blow up the school, though it did get a shot off through South Sairaag." Lina winced at that.

Sipping his coffee, Rasmus swallowed and smirked at her silently. Lina continued, "It was real weird, though. Garadaar started moving across the city, like it was sliding down a steep slope, then that pillar of light opened, and Garadaar fell through. Xelloss teleported us here, then left."

"To come harass me," Rasmus huffed.

Laughing lightly, Lina shrugged again, "It's Xelloss, he's a Mazoku, what do you expect? He's got some agenda of his own all the time, and we're just tools. Anyway, that's our story." Her eyes traveled to Sylphiel, where she was standing beside David, where she had tucked against his side, under his arm once he'd stopped victory dancing. "Hey uh, Syl...?" the sorceress shifted and glanced down at Amelia meaningfully. The princess's eyes lit up with understanding. "Could we talk to David for a second...privately. I've got a few things I want to ask him."

Blinking towards the redhead, Sylphiel smiled and patted David's arm, "Of course. My other self wanted to ask me something too, I'll go talk to her." Turning, Sylphiel headed off into the forest, David's eyes following her, and leering a bit when she glanced back at him. Giggling behind her hand, she sped up to a cute trot and was out of sight.

Amelia stood, latching onto David's arm as Lina grabbed the other. "Yrk!" And he was dragged backwards making him almost spill his coffee. Away from the two Zelgadis'es they went, and consequently, away from the coffee pot, the latter of which he mourned the most, but at least he had one cup and a doughnut. Once they were on the other side of the clearing, Amelia and Lina shoved David down onto a root that was just high enough to sit on, but he was still below eye-level with them.

Lina planted her fists on her hips, Amelia folded her arms under her breasts, and both were looking at him as if he were some horse they were going to buy. "I'm not sure I approve of this," Lina stated.

"Yeah," Amelia agreed, "You dating Sylphiel! What makes you think you're good enough for her?"

Rasmus stared at them, then David's left eye abruptly turned blue as the Kopii ran screaming into the back of his host's mind. David blinked and glanced around in confusion, only to have Lina's finger pointing just between his eyes. "Oh no! Tell him to come back! The question applies to him too!"

Leaning back, David sipped his coffee, "I don't think he will. He's gibbering in terror of you."

"As he should," Lina smirked, "But I want an answer!"

David had certainly never expected for anyone to confront him on this subject, it was shocking, but somewhat pleasantly so. He smiled slightly and balanced his coffee mug on his knee, lifting his chin defiantly, "I might not be good enough for her," he answered, "But she's decided to keep us, and that's what matters. She's certainly done wonders for me, and if our company is the reward she wants for helping me to live, and giving Rasmus a reason to live, then we're more than glad to give it to her."

His eyes flicked down, then Rasmus peeked up, "I really am sorry... for what I did. I was wrong, but I was also partially insane, and Eris suppressed what sanity I had left. I didn't have much choice in fighting you, and Eris... just pissed me off. I was hoping to catch her in the blast, but she ran away too quickly." He looked away from Amelia and Lina's twin stares. "I looked into it, too... most of the people I killed were already dead on this side. There was some water treatment issue here that got a lot of people sick before they fixed it."

Amelia drew a breath and glanced at Lina, who looked back after a second, "So you're saying that what you did only balanced things out between here and our world?" she asked.

"Sounds like you're trying to skip out of the blame," Lina added, looking back down at the Kopii.

Grinding his teeth, Rasmus snapped his head up to stare at Lina, fear no longer in his expression, "Never," he hissed. "What happened there IS my fault in that I did it, but you killed me once already, I haven't fucked up here, and I'm not going to. I don't have to answer to you, Lina Inverse, so leave me the hell alone."

Abruptly, David was back in charge and took a breath or two and a swig of coffee that was starting to get cold. "Really, Lina, you don't have to worry about him doing anything. I'm far more mentally stable, and experienced. I'll keep him straight. And so will Sylphiel, he really loves her, as much as I do, and both of us will do anything in our power to make sure she's happy. ...which is why we went out to kill that demonbeast on our own, not that there was anyone who could really help us, but still, Rasmus wanted to protect the city because it's Sylphiel's home, and that's all that really mattered to him- not redeeming himself for his past actions."

Lina leered forward, "Alright," she said, apparently satisfied with their answers thus far. "What about your house? Your job? How well off are you?"

Blinking, David stared at her, and quirked a brow. "I've got a place of my own," he said, "It's small, but I can afford better, should she want to move in with me. I'm paid rather well, head of a department that's working on an important part of a project for Seyruun. I'd go into specifics, but you wouldn't understand them, except Rasmus has equated what I do to be something like the mechanics of really complicated spells you have to use inscriptions for, like making golems that last longer than the caster's concentration and energy."

"So you write the spell work for that?" Amelia asked, curious. "What sort of golem is it for?"

Smiling slightly, David replied, "It's a healer's lab, that will float above the planet where there's no gravity. They can make better medicine up there than they can down here, because the gravity interferes, as well as the possibility for contamination being higher. My 'spells' will make sure that the lab doesn't crash, and can have ships dock with it without needing someone to be there working the controls, as well as maintain an atmosphere that people can survive in, controlling temperature and air pressure. You know, it's really difficult to tell you about it in terms you'd get," he sighed.

Straightening, Lina shifted her weight to one hip and folded her arms, "Well, what you can explains sounds like it will help a lot of people."

David nodded. "That was the general idea behind it."

Amelia nodded slightly and looked towards Lina, who jerked her chin to the side. "You stay right there," the princess told David, levering a finger at his face again, then the two women stepped away to huddle, whispering too softly for David to hear more than a general mumble.

"So what do you think?" Amelia asked.

Lina pursed her lips, "I think... Rasmus has changed, and David's certainly level-headed, and financially stable."

Amelia nodded in agreement, "Yeah, David seems like a really nice guy, he's certainly intelligent."

"And has a nice smile," Lina added, grinning.

Heaving a sigh, Amelia shook her head, then peeked back at David, "he's certainly handsome- I didn't notice before, what with being too busy dodging his spells the first time we met."

Lina sniggered, "Same," she replied. "So that's a check on intelligence, handsome, and nice smile."

Once again, Amelia peeked back at him to see that he was just sitting there, drinking his coffee with a distant look, which probably David and Rasmus were having a private conversation of some sort, "And charming and selfless. But they're in one body," she pointed out. "That really doesn't give much hope for –our- Sylphiel..."

Folding her arms, Lina tapped her foot, "I know. Damn! At least she's going to get Flagoon back. I don't think the Other Sylphiel will refuse to give her a seed."

Amelia clasped her hands together and frowned down at the ground, "It's still not fair... he's already in love with her, so it would just be a matter of getting her to forgive him."

"I think she might," Lina admitted, "I've seen her staring at him that way she used to look at Gourry, but I don't think she's realized it."

Giving a soft laugh, Amelia nodded, "I saw too. I think it's probably because her Other Self likes him... no. She loves him, truly. It's so nice to see love like that!"

Snorting, Lina broke the conference and both young women stepped back over to David to deliver their verdict. "Okay," the redhead stated, "I guess you're good enough for her..."

"Both of you," Amelia added when Lina couldn't quite admit to it.

Rasmus looked back at them, snorted, and disappeared again. David shook his head. "Gee, thanks," he said, having finished his coffee and doughnut in the meantime. "I'd hoped you'd approve," he added to soften his sarcasm and stood, giving a long hard stretch. "So is the interview over?"

Amelia nodded and Lina simply turned and walked off. Sighing, David lowered his arms, "You know... I really hadn't expected to get grilled like that," he admitted to Amelia with a slight smile, "but it's kinda cool, having a woman who's got friends willing to grill me for her. I promise, I'll do right by her."

David's eye turned yellow, and solemnly, Rasmus stated, "May she take the Bless Blade to me if I do hurt her." With that, he walked off to get a refill of coffee.

Blinking, Amelia caught her breath and dashed over to Lina to report this further development. "You're SURE Rasmus said that?" Lina whispered sharply, and Amelia nodded. "I'll be... I guess he really is serious."

"It's True LOVE!" Amelia pumped her fist.

Sylphiel chose that moment to return and went straight for David to collect a sticky kiss from him after he'd just finished consuming his second doughnut. Afterwards, he licked his fingers and stood, new cup of coffee in hand. "Shall we go?" he asked, and she nodded and linked arms with him as the two Zelgadis'es stood. Together, they turned and started off into the trees. Slowly, Lina shook her head and lengthened her stride to catch up with the Chimera and Rockstar, "No matter...how many times I see that..." she muttered.

Zel, who was taking his own coffee as well, replied, "You won't have to get used to it, cause he's staying here." He sped his pace to catch up with his cousin, leaving the other three to follow behind at whatever speed they liked.

Amelia picked up a few more pastries before following, catching the tail end of that conversation, "That sounded rather ...possessive," she observed, and bit into one of her pastries.

Giving a snort, Zelgadis shook his head and drained his mug, then set it down, "I was that way about Rezo," he admitted, "I almost wish I'd had a David to grow up with... he would have kept me out of a lot of trouble." Together, they headed after their guides.

Through the forest they went, lit by eerie green light that filtered through the leaves above, and finally emerged out onto the shore of a large circular lake from the center of which grew a huge tree. The Sylphiel from Lina's world already stood on the shore, hands together in front of her, her eyes closed. David released his Syl and slurped some coffee. Syl stepped up beside her other self and smiled slightly. "It was nice meeting you."

Drawing a breath, the shrine maiden opened her eyes and lowered her hands, a small bag was clasped between them, "And you... Thank you for the seed." She glanced back, her eyes focusing on each of her friends, and finally landing on David, who shifted into Rasmus. She blushed and looked away. The Rockstar moved to stand beside Rasmus, folding his arms and shifting his weight to one hip, his empty mug dangling from his fingers.

Holding her hands out, Syl breathed, shoulders relaxing as the lake lit up with white light, then flashed, becoming a view of the ruined Sairaag sky in summer colors. Gourry grinned and dashed forward without even asking how they were supposed to cross and leapt into the water with a whoop. He didn't splash. At least not on their side...

Emerging into the other Sairaag, he swam for the surface and clamored out of the water, wringing his hair out. Taking a breath, Zelgadis shook his head and dove in- and sank for a moment on the other side before levitating out of the water. Amelia followed, and last Lina gave a broad grin and wink and dove in, leaving Sylphiel.

Rasmus drained his coffee and handed the cup to Zel, then paced forward. "I ...just wanted to ...apologize again," he said slowly, fingers playing with the edge of his sleeve. "I do regret it, now that I know how serious what I did... really was."

"You're not coming?" Sylphiel asked.

Shaking his head, Rasmus spread his hands, "Only have the one body, and it belongs here." He blushed slightly, "but thanks for the offer."

Her hands came together again around the small bag that she held in her palm. "At least," she said softly, looking down, "You're trying to do better."

Something moved on the Astral plane and Rasmus turned his head, but not in time to dodge Xelloss as he appeared behind him. With a cheerful smirk, the Mazoku planted his hands between Rasmus's shoulders and shoved. Losing balance, Ras flailed, hit Sylphiel, and they both toppled into the water, both David and Rasmus shouting _"No!"_ mentally, if not physically.

Landing in the water on the other side, Rasmus flailed and finally caught hold of something solid. Sputtering, he dragged himself from the water, eyes wide with shock. "That- bloody MAZOKU! I'm going to skin and eat him!" Spinning around, Rasmus looked down at the lake, only to find that it ...was a lake and nothing more. The second thing he noticed was that there was no Flagoon above him, only the seemingly endless expanse of rubble.

"Hey! What're you two doing here?" Lina asked and Ras turned to look up at her. Sylphiel pulled herself up out of the water beside him and stood, wringing out her hair and cloak.

He felt the blood drain from his face, hands went cold, his mouth opened, but no sound came out. _"David? ...DAVID! David answer me!"_

There was no answer. There was only echoing silence and the distinct feeling of being utterly alone in that body.

"He's gone!" Rasmus gasped at last. "David's gone!"

"What do you mean 'David's gone'?" Zelgadis asked, wringing out his cape, but looking over at Rasmus with concern.

Rasmus shoved his fingers into his hair and curled them, pulling, "He's gone! He's not there! I-... I'm alone!" he started going shrill, panic setting in. He wasn't ready for this. He didn't WANT to be by himself! David was... David was his older brother. David had called him brother!

Scowling, Lina raised her fist, and the blow knocked Rasmus onto his face. "Calm down," she ordered, "and tell us what happened?"

Taking a breath, and then another one, Rasmus collected his thoughts, forced himself to put things into a coherent form- fearing another smack from Lina that might actually do damage. "Xelloss pushed us in, and now David's gone."

Laughing softly, Xelloss teleported in and landed atop a block of rubble nearby, "Why, of course I did, Rasmus. You were upsetting the balance between the mirrored worlds. Don't worry. I didn't leave them completely defenseless. They have David still, and he has your memories."

Shoving himself to his hands and knees, Rasmus fumed, "But I didn't WANT to come back here! My family is there! The woman I love is there!" he slammed his fist into the ground, "You stinking bastard!" Surging to his feet, Rasmus launched himself at the Mazoku, but missed by a second as the Mysterious Priest disappeared. He sailed over the block and landed with a splash back in the lake. For a moment, he flailed, and finally got his feet under him, "Send me BACK!" Rasmus howled, standing up in the knee-deep water. "I want to go back!"

"Now, can't always have what we want," Xelloss's disembodied voice taunted and faded out.

Knees going week, Rasmus sank down to the ground, splashing into the water, feeling hot tears burning in his eyes.

Lina stepped atop the block and looked down at him, "Well, why don't you come with us, then?"

Rasmus shook his head. "There's no point in going anywhere," he stated desolately.

"There's also no point in staying here," Zelgadis returned, moving up to stand beside Lina and folding his arms. Amelia came to stand beside him. Sylphiel took a breath and stepped to Lina's other side.

Shaking his head, Rasmus didn't look up at them, though he could see their reflections in the lake. "Where would I go? No one wants me here, I've no home, no family, nothing."

Amelia huffed, "That's not true," she clenched a fist, "You've got friends. Doesn't that count for something?"

A tear hit the water, and Rasmus's shoulders shook. Desperately, he tried not to sob out loud as he leaned forward on his hands on a rock he sat on beneath the water. Amelia had... said they were his friends? But what did friends count for when he had to start over... AGAIN? Biting his lip, Rasmus closed his eyes, wallowing in misery.

* * *

David flailed in the water briefly, then was hauled out by Zelgadis's strong arms. Sputtering, he lay on the bank, "God- that damn demon!" he spat and sat up, and fell silent, eyes staring as he searched through his mind.

Rasmus's memories were there still, Rezo's too.

But Rasmus himself was gone. "David?" Sylphiel asked and put her arms around his shoulders, "What's wrong? Ras? Say something, please!"

"Ras is gone!" He couldn't exactly tell why the statement hurt so much, but David suddenly felt very alone.

Zelgadis shook his head, "What do you mean?"

Shaking his head, David sat up, "Rasmus is gone- I still have all his memories, but he's not there!" Lifting his eyes, he looked up at Sylphiel, who looked about to cry. "I just lost my little brother," he mourned and Sylphiel tightened her hold around his shoulders, pressing her face against his wet hair.

"Hey!" Zelgadis snapped, "Maybe he just fell through to the other side?" he suggested.

Sniffling, Sylphiel stood, "Maybe, I'll check." Turning to face the lake, she held her hands out over the water as David and Zelgadis watched closely. The water flashed and cleared, becoming a vision of the destroyed version of Sairaag. Lina, the Chimera, princess, and Sylphiel stood on a stone, overlooking the water and in it...

"Rasmus..." Sylphiel whispered. Sitting in the water was a very distraught looking clone of Rezo, soaking wet and tears running down his face.

Zelgadis grinned, "Ha, no need to worry about him then, he's alive again." David's lips pulled downwards slightly. Zel was right, but... that didn't mean he had to like it!

In the reflection, Sylphiel knelt, mouth moving as she said something, and slowly, Rasmus lifted his face, staring up at Sylphiel as she held out her hand to him. Though she didn't smile, her expression wasn't negative either, simply neutral.

Nudging David, Zelgadis looked over and tried desperately to cheer his cousin up by pointing out, "Hey, Sylphiel's watching out for him now too, so he'll be fine." That statement was a bit premature, for Rasmus hadn't taken her hand at that point, but they didn't have long to wait before he did.

Lina pumped her fist and spun around, heading off out of sight, followed by the Chimera. Sylphiel pulled Rasmus to his feet, and didn't let go of his hand after she'd helped him out of the water.

David sighed as the image disappeared. Sylphiel beat him to his lament, "I'll still miss him."

The end


	17. Author's Note

And now for a really long Author's note, which you don't have to read if you don't want to!

This story has two new chapters because I portioned out chapters 5 and 6 into smaller chunks.

On with the author's note!

I'd like to thank you, my readers, including those who didn't review me (cry!), and I'd especially like to thank Jakub for emailing me with that extensive essay- it makes me happy to know someone cared enough to go that in-depth about my fic. (squee!) Also, I'd like to make note that- even though I didn't say at the beginning of this fic:

**_I do not own the Slayers characters or universe in any way, shape, or form. So if you're reading this and thinking I'm getting cash off it, you're seriously wrong and I'm just a poor college student, so don't sue me please._**

Now that that's out of the way...

So, here we are, at the end of my fanfic in only 8 days, quite a bit different from my usual: which is a year between chapters, but honestly, I was writing the bloody thing more for the Kopii/Sylphiel romance, which I think is really cute- blame 'A Flower Whose Name I Don't Know Yet' for that obsession. They're cute together, and have plenty in common- even after you get past the whole... he blew up Sairaag bit. Phibrizzo did it too! O.o;;

In all, I'm happy with this fic. The plot actually turned out the way I wanted it to, instead of my giving hints of a cool plot, and then not doing it- as happened in one of my other finished fanfics: 'Mage Elite' (which I'm considering rewriting, but I dunno how long THAT will take). The only thing I think I could have done better was more on Lina's side of the fic, but Mom was breathing down my neck for me to finish the damn thing, so I sorta rushed. I'd intended for Lina's side to explain more about the Mirror and what Xelloss's motivations were, but that didn't end up happening.

In short, the Mazoku race can, and does, inhabit David's world, but the Mirror barrier is a delicate thing that requires balance so that only those with enough power- such as Xelloss, and probably even Filia if she wanted- can get across fairly easily while the lower level monsters and such are not allowed. As for the lower level monsters and such, they spend most of their time in the Astral plane anyway, so are not weighed in on the scale. The Gods and the Monsters are not reflected across, only the mortals, thus giving a 2-part lock to the seal Cephied put the Shabranigdu pieces under. Now that Rezo on Lina's side has released Shabranigdu, the Rezo on David's side can open his eyes. However, since the Rezo on Lina's side is dead, the Rezo on David's side's days are numbered, as are Eruk's and anyone else who hadn't died in the water-born disease that killed off a bunch of people in David's world. This makes Rasmus's blowing up Sairaag just a balancing out of the scales once again, though it was terrible it was necessary. No, Eruk was not mayor during the time that happened, he was the one voted in after and the one who got the water treatment plant updated and fixed.

After Rasmus destroyed half of Sairaag in his world and died, Phibrizzo came and unbalanced the scales again by having Flagoon on one side, but not the other, which is why Rasmus and David met in the first place. Flagoon had already caught its other Soul-half and Cephied saw the opportunity to get things back into order when Rasmus got swept along with the Holy Tree. Xelloss's motive for kicking Rasmus back over to Lina's world was because, though Ras wasn't unbalancing things all that much, it was enough to make turbulence, and it was just too good of an opportunity to make misery to pass up on.

So, there's my explanation. A bit longer than I thought it'd be...

As for sequels, that's not likely to occur with this fic- not likely, but it could, if I clean up the document I titled 'Divergent theories 2' of all the smut and stuff. Heh, considering that my parents read my fanfics too, I tend not to post anything online that I'd be embarrassed about having my mom talk to me about.

Anyway! Here's a short bit about what they're doing now:

Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia went to go see Ashford and eat their Dragon Cuisine- there was much havoc and Dragon Slaving along the way. Lina offered for Rasmus to come with them, having decided to take at least a little pity on him, but he declined. Sylphiel was offered a share as well, but she declined too, claiming she had to plant Flagoon.

After having Dragon Cuisine (finally) Lina and Gourry went off to go do other stuff. You know the drill- fire balling bandits and Dragon Slaving kings and Gourry: the usual gropeage and chaos. Amelia and Zelgadis unfortunately had to split off, Amelia getting a letter from her father requesting her to return home. Zelgadis saw her off courteously, but returned to Sairaag to continue hunting through Rezo's old stuff. They're keeping in touch, however.

Rasmus and Sylphiel stayed in Sairaag, Sylphiel becoming the High Priestess of Flagoon, spending most of her days caring for the new Holy Tree- new body, same soul. The rest of her time is used training new Shrine Maidens and working at the Holy Flagoon Hospital Rasmus kindly gave her the funds and labor to have built.

As for where Rasmus got those funds and labor, he presented himself to the now Dean-less university, informed them of who and what he was, and they promptly voted him in as Dean. He spends his days running the school, making sure the students stay out of trouble in town, and helping with the Copy and Chimera research side of the school, as well as identifying magical items dug up out in the ruins. Between him and Sylphiel, things are a bit cool, but he's working on her... slowly.

On David's side, thankfully no one got a good look at who was fighting Garadaar, but the event spawned hundreds of little 'magic' cults that had mixed results; some actually discovered magic, some didn't. Those that did were not formally taught, and so it was only a matter of time before they managed to kill themselves off with stupidity.

David went back to his programming job and finished the space lab project, went to Rezo's family reunion to learn two important things- the first of which being that Rezo's eyes were finally working, and the second was that he had cancer and the doctors could really only guess that it would be a matter of a few months, maybe a year, before he died of it. Rezo blamed his experiments with genetics for his condition, and confessed to David about the clone issue and agreed that he'd publish the results of his last dozen projects, including his foray into the now hotly debated topic of cloning as well as external human gestation machines he'd been using to make the clones of David.

Though most had failed due to problems with the design, one had lived and the flaws inherent in his DNA were due to blurry genes. The one that survived finally got to meet his original, which overjoyed him and David accepted Mayes, his clone, as another little brother. Afterwards, David attended Amelia's birthday party and proposed to Sylphiel. She accepted and they were married the following year. On a side project, David had begun studying the relationship between programming, science, and magic, trying to come up with some factual point in the past that showed the split between the Technology and Magic sides of the Mirror, while covertly helping Sylphiel in the hospital.

Lina and Gourry went on with their lives, Lina going halfsies with Zelgadis on David's new road-yacht, and the whole subject was dropped afterwards. Gourry went on to break the single series homerun record with 86.

Zelgadis, after attending the reunion, went back on tour for the year and finished with a world record of albums sold. He talked David into recording their song on an official single CD and shared the bounty of cash that flowed in from that as well. After attending Amelia's birthday, he officially announced his involvement with the princess, much to the mixed joy and consternation of his fans.

Sairaag itself recovered from the incident rather quickly- scientists from around the world coming to study the corpse of the Demonbeast as well as tourists, who flocked to take a look at the monstrosity. The concert hall was rebuilt, even bigger and better than ever.


End file.
